Leclerc says Vasseur 'just starting' process at Ferrari and 'trusts him fully' for future

Charles Leclerc says he is completely behind his Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur, as they look to turn the situation around at the Scuderia and go back to fighting for championships in the future.

Vasseur left his role as Alfa Romeo Team Principal – where he had been in charge since 2017 – to take over the reigns at Ferrari before the start of the current campaign, following the departure of the team’s former boss Mattia Binotto.

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However, it has been a difficult start to life for the French boss and his team, as they currently sit fourth in the championship with 78 points – 146 points off current championship leaders Red Bull – while Leclerc’s third place in Baku is their only podium so far this season.

But Leclerc has thrown his support around his new leader as, when asked what he had made of Vasseur’s approach since he took over at Ferrari, the Monegasque believes he is putting everything in place to bring success back to the team.

“Well, I think he's just starting this process now," said Leclerc. "Until now he was basically trying to analyse the situation as quickly as possible in order to do the best changes possible for the future.

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“So yeah, I think the big part of the job will be done from now on - so we will see. Obviously, I speak a lot with Fred and I know what are his middle and long term plans for the team, and I’m completely behind him and I trust him fully.”

He added: “So I'm sure these are the right choices, and it goes in the right direction for the team. So, for that, I'm looking forward to it. But yeah, let's wait and see.”

Leclerc finished seventh in Miami, behind his team mate Carlos Sainz in fifth, with both drivers left complaining of inconsistencies in their car. And ahead of their home race in Imola, Vasseur insisted that, while the team will continue to bring upgrades, they must find a way to extract the potential from their car.

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“We will have updates, but honestly [in Miami] the issue is not the potential of the car, I think that when we are putting together everything we are there,” said Vasseur.

“It is more on the exploitation on the tools that we have rather than the updates. For sure we will bring updates but it’s not the issue.”