One can’t do big things if one is distracted by small things. The distraction for Ferrari isn’t a small one and is instilled within the Italian culture. As Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur battle against time and resources to make the SF-23 faster, these distractions might become a hindrance to the development process. It’s up to the French Team Principal to make sure it doesn’t become a limitation. What is the distraction and how will it affect the team?

John Elkann, brother of the Chairman of Ferrari, recently made comments asking Ferrari to leave the politics behind and wake up. This comes as a sledgehammer for Ferrari amidst the terrible start to the season that they’ve had. The SF-23 seems to devour its tires quickly and then lack grip compared to competitors. Also, the drivers haven’t been in the best form and have made several errors. However, Frederic Vasseur and Ferrari have a bigger battle on their hands besides the car issues. 

The Italian Media is very strong, powerful, and opinionated on the Ferrari. They’re instilled in Ferrari’s soul and are a part of Italian culture. The media writes shining comments if Ferrari has a good race, but also highlights the comments that Elkann made like it’s the end of the world. A double-edged sword that has mostly been cutting its own master recently. The hosts of the F1 Nation suggest that the only way for Vasseur to protect the team is dependent on how much the people are distracted by the media.

According to The F1 Nation podcast, the host said, “The strength of the Italian Media is inveigled in the team’s psyche. When you have a good race, they will write Brilliant things about you and when things aren’t going as well then it just takes someone like Elkann to say something like Ferrari needs to wake up. Now depending on whether Fred can protect everybody from that is dependent on how much people get distracted. It can be a distraction.”

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Frederic Vasseur has a big job on his hands. These distractions can put a team off its focus and Ferrari needs 100% focus at the moment as they try to catch Red Bull. However, the Italian Media isn’t the only headache that Vasseur has to deal with as things start getting spicy between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. 

The Drama between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at Albert Park

Carlos Sainz aborted his flying lap in Q3 as the tires weren’t warm enough, which meant Charles Leclerc didn’t get the tow he was expecting from the Spaniard. Leclerc was annoyed about the fact that Ferrari sent him out early to do his flying lap as a rain threat was imminent. However, the Monegasque seemed to be frustrated at the fact that Sainz did not give him a tow and made a sarcastic comment on the radio. 

According to Peter Windsor’s YouTube video, he said “In Q3, Charles was quite annoyed that he didn’t get any sort of tow or help from Carlos Sainz. It would have been only on, I guess, the finishing straight. I don’t think there’s anywhere else in Melbourne you can get any help at all. I thought it was odd that he made that public, that he was upset about that because you’ve got to live in your own world and you’ve got to be very cocooned when you’re at Ferrari.”

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What do you make of the harsh comments on Ferrari by the Italian Media? Let us know in the comments below.