Frederic Vasseur from Milan to world title

Vasseur’s words

Waiting to take the stage in Piazza Castello in Milan with his drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport. "Last year we had a good season but we obviously have room for improvement. Performance never depends on one factor and there is no magic formula to improve. In recent years we have made a good step forward and we need to continue in the same direction but we can start with optimism".

"How much will what we see in the first race weekend tell us about the season? It won’t be that important, becauseé the season will be a very long struggle. Melbourne è a non-permanent track and that means it will change a lot during the weekend, giving us atypical results. Then we go to China, where it will be cold, like in Japan in the third round. Then it goes back to Bahrain, where it will be very hot. Thisò means that the first four or five races will be very different exercises"

"Although Lewis is a seven-time world champion, for him this transition è has been a’huge experience so far. When you start with a new team è always a bit’ complex because’ you have to get to know a lot of new people, discover the working method, the processes, the new steering wheel and so on. But è it went well: testing for him turned out to be three intense days but I think he is now ready for Melbourne".

"Perhaps we have before us the most exciting season in the last thirty’years becauseé there are four teams that finished last year very close and now want to win. It will be crucial for us to develop the car well and work with the drivers to arrive ready. The rest we will see on the track".