Ferrari engineers being provided the impetus to take risks has been the biggest thing boss Frederic Vasseur has contributed since his arrival, according to Jock Clear.
Vasseur was appointed in response to Ferrari’s derailed title fight in 2022, which had consequences as it entailed a capricious and inconsistent SF-23 car last season.
However, a late-season improvement saw Ferrari end up three points behind second place and the marque has maintained that momentum into the current campaign.
Ferrari has sustained success with a revamped car concept which has eradicated the recalcitrant tendencies of its predecessor and delivered two wins in eight races.
The Maranello-based squad has closed to within 24 points of championship leaders Red Bull, with Vasseur commending the team for now being “more opportunistic”.
Clear believes the Frenchman granting individuals the freedom to be bold without worries of being condemned for mistakes has facilitated Ferrari’s tangible progress.
Asked whether Ferrari now acts more extreme in response to Vasseur’s plea to the team last term, Clear said at Imola: “I think honestly I think it’s a testament to Fred.
“You know that that’s what leadership gives people the confidence to make more risky decisions and honestly, that’s Fred’s strength.
“If he says that’s what’s needed that’s all very well as long as he facilitates that and he absolutely does.
“So you know he’s giving people the confidence to say, ‘no we can try some different things and if we learn something that’s all we can do’.
“If it goes wrong we’ll still have learned something if you see what I mean and it’s giving people the confidence to do that.
“I think that is noticeable since Fred’s been around and people enjoy that you know people aren’t scared of trying new things unless they think, ‘oh my god you know I’m gonna get all the blame for this’. You know the fact is people are now looking at it from the point of view that you know we can learn a lot faster if we take some risks.
“I think if we all generally keep pedalling, Red Bull is pedalling at the same speed as us, the difference is Red Bull doesn’t have to take risks and they’re probably thinking it’s not good to take risks because you know we are where we are so it’s that risk factor that will be the differentiator between the other teams trying to catch Red Bull and Red Bull [staying ahead].”
Clear, who has been with Ferrari since 2015 and serves as its Senior Performance Engineer, has insisted there remain chances to overhaul Red Bull under this ruleset.
“We have to recognize again the job that Red Bull is doing and take a hat off to them but that gap is narrowing behind them,” he assessed.
“You know there are three, four teams that are very very close and I think that is a natural result of just two years of development and if this aero package carries on for another 10 years we would all be super close by the end of it, that is a natural result.
“But at the moment there’s still opportunities. It’s not like we’re resigned to the fact that it’s just going to get closer and go, there are still opportunities
“You know the cars aren’t that well defined now that there aren’t areas where you think, ‘oh yeah if we can make this work that could be a game changer’.”
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