Ferrari honcho Fred Vasseur 'not scared at all' of handling the pressure that comes with leading the team

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur revealed that he was ready to tackle the pressure that comes on by being the head of the Italian racing giants.

The team boss' role at Prancing Horses is arguably the most coveted job in the motorsport world but is also the most high-pressure as they have the expectations of a whole nation on their shoulders. Vassuer used to be the team principal for Renault and Alfa Romeo before replacing Mattia Binotto this season.

Speaking at a Friday press conference ahead of the Bahrain GP, Vasseur said:

"I am very keen to have this kind of target and this kind of motivation every day. And I think that the team is used to dealing with it and honestly, I'm not scared at all about this."

He also spoke about the differences between the team's principal roles in Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, adding:

"I have to walk much less from the parking to the hospitality, first. But no, at the end of the day for sure the expectations are different. What we are doing, it's much more visible to everybody but honestly, I love the pressure and the target is to win and, it's a dream."

"Passion is a bit higher probably, but this is OK" - Ferrari team principal

Fred Vasseur mentioned that the Italian team has a bit more passion and emotion involved compared to the other teams on the grid despite sharing the same racing DNA with everyone.

He said:

"Yeah, I think that clearly there is more emotion, passion, and so around Ferrari, but at the end of the day, I think all the racing teams are similar in the fact that we have the same DNA. It's all about technique and performance and continuous improvement and the approach is the same. Passion is a bit higher, but this is OK."

Vassuer also spoke about the Ferrari 2023 challenger SF-23, adding:

"So far, for sure that Red Bull is a step ahead. But the season is 23 races and we didn't do the first one, we did just the FP1, and it's a long way to go. I think last year for the team was a good lesson, the championship is not over after Race One, and we know that it will be a long way. And we have to continue to develop the car over the season."

It would be fascinating to see if Ferrari can bounce back in Saudi Arabia in a couple of weeks after their dismal opening race in Bahrain.