Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has encouraged Ferrari to show more patience to his counterpart Fred Vasseur amid the growing pressure surrounding his role.
Vasseur oversaw Ferrari’s most sustained title challenge since 2012 last season as the side battled McLaren right to the last race in the Constructors’ Championship.
But the Italian marque has been unable to build on that this season as it sits winless 10 rounds in to now languish an all but irrecoverable 207 points behind McLaren.
That prompted reports to circulate within the Italian media in the lead-up to last month’s Canadian Grand Prix that Ferrari’s senior bosses are contemplating a change.
Vasseur launched a strong reaction to the rumours when quizzed on the matter in Montreal, while drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton also gave their support.
Wolff, whose Mercedes team lags a point behind Ferrari, is adamant that Vasseur, now in his third campaign at the helm, needs time for his rebuild to produce results.
“In Formula 1 you can’t buy time, and you need to give senior leadership the time to get on top of things,” Wolff told media including Motorsport Week.
“Jean Todt, if I’m not wrong, joined the team [Ferrari] in 1993. They won the first championship in 2000. Eight years: that’s how it goes.
“And it comes in cycles. Look at us. I’m not enjoying being in a phase that it’s the third year in a row that we’re not fighting for a championship. We’re not useless.
“We have really good weekends. We’re winning races. It’s respectable at times. When it’s not good, nobody’s questioning whether the top guy is doing a good job or not.
“Leave him the space. Let him do. Allow him to structure an organisation that isn’t going to grip from day one. Loic [Serra, Technical Director] is there six months or seven months. They need to just let them do.”
Wolff advises Vasseur to ’embrace’ Ferrari pressure
Wolff has advised Vasseur to “embrace” the increased pressure that comes with leading Ferrari, a team whose supporters have been starved of a title win since 2008.
“He’s perfectly aware that in Italy, he’s like managing the football national team and you’re going to have the scrutiny from the media,” he continued.
“Maybe that’s something you need to grow a little bit of a thick skin [for], because if he wins, he is Jesus Christ. And if you lose, you’re a loser.
“That’s how Italy is, and that’s fantastic. That’s the passion that’s there and you’ve got to embrace that. And maybe that’s something he needs to learn.
“But he should be given the confidence to run this team. They won’t get anybody better.”
Wolff has also claimed that Vasseur would be his ideal pick as his successor in an alternative universe where he is no longer serving as the Mercedes Team Principal.
“Fred is one of the best racing managers that I know. If I wasn’t here, I would take Fred,” the Austrian asserted.
“So, I respect him a lot. He’s a great personality. He’s a straightforward guy. He doesn’t do politics and lies, and he knows what he’s talking about.”
READ MORE – F1 CEO supports Fred Vasseur amid Ferrari dismissal rumours
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