Despite a morale boost from Monaco’s win, Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur states their strategic approach in Montreal remains unchanged.
Fred Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal, enjoys the team atmosphere following wins. The Frenchman reveals that the mindset within Scuderia currently reminds him of the Japanese Grand Prix, after Carlos Sainz’s win in Australia, as Ferrari looks to continue its success following Charles Leclerc’s victory in Monaco.
“Earlier in the season, we went to Japan riding a wave of enthusiasm following Carlos’s win in Australia and now we have the same feeling in Canada after Charles’s triumph in his home race in Monaco,” Vasseur stated.
“Everyone is pumped up and fully prepared for this Grand Prix. The Montreal track is very different from that of the Principality, even though there are still some slow corners. But generally, it is much faster, requires less downforce, and there are more overtaking opportunities.”
“This does not mean that our approach to the weekend will change in any way. We are moving in the right direction technically, regarding our strategic calls from the pit wall and the way the team works as a whole.”
“Thanks to hard work, we have managed to close the gap with the team leading both championships, but the gaps between us, McLaren, and Red Bull are very tight and the smallest detail can make a difference.”
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be another challenge for Scuderia, and it’s Bryan Bozzi, Charles Leclerc’s new race engineer, who discusses in detail the challenges related to this specific track.
“Montreal has long straights followed by combinations of moderately slow corners. To be competitive, one needs good straight-line speed, excellent deceleration in the braking zone, and good traction out of the corners,” notes Bozzi.
“As for the drivers, they need to be very confident in braking to be precise in the corners and able to accelerate as quickly as possible out of them. Here, as on all street circuits, it’s important to do a lot of laps in free practice to gain confidence in the passages between walls that can catch you by surprise.”
What is the role of a race engineer?
The person who replaced Xavi Marcos alongside Leclerc details his role with the Monegasque driver during race weekends, as well as his former role as a performance engineer: “The race engineer is responsible for the operation of the car entrusted to them over the race weekend.”
“This includes executing the plan for each free practice session and fine-tuning the car’s settings. It is the race engineer who speaks to the driver over the radio to convey all the necessary information during the sessions.”
“The performance engineer is tasked with optimizing the various controls of the car, such as brake balance and the differential. By definition, this role involves spending a lot of time analyzing the car’s balance and ensuring it behaves as expected in simulations.”
“The driving coach focuses on improving the actual performance of the driver. They analyze video and telemetry data from all the cars on the track and suggest to the driver the racing lines to follow and any other ideas that might make them faster.”
“These individuals, along with other engineers on the circuit and in Maranello, strive to optimize the car to extract the last thousandths of a second from the lap time, which is often enough to make a difference in Formula 1 as it is today.”
Bozzi recounts his journey to F1: “I am of Italian-Danish descent and studied at St George’s British International School in Rome, before studying mechanical engineering at Bath University. At the time, I participated in a Formula Student program aimed at giving various groups of students the opportunity to design and build a race car.”
“It was then that I realized that I really enjoyed racing and tried to get a job as an intern at Ferrari, the team everyone wants to work for at some point or another. From there, things went well and I have been part of the Scuderia Ferrari HP for several years now.”
“Representing this company and Italy at the highest level of motorsport is something I am very proud of, especially since I have had the opportunity to work alongside a driver of Charles’s caliber.”
Vasseur Firm: No Shift in Strategy for Montreal GP. Vasseur Firm: No Shift in Strategy for Montreal GP
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