Carlos Sainz gave an optimistic assessment of the news he has a new team principal for next season.
Frederic Vasseur was confirmed as the new chief at Ferrari this week, following the resignation of Mattia Binotto. The Frenchman will officially begin his duties in the New Year and oversee the marque's preparations for the 2023 season.
There will be plenty of intrigue over how Vasseur does in the job, with one subject in particular having already been raised. Binotto was keen to allow Charles Leclerc and Sainz race each other at every opportunity, but there have been suggestions the new boss might want to change that.
And that could be bad news for Sainz, having been largely outperformed by his team-mate this year. Also, Vasseur and Leclerc already know each other very well – the latter spent his first year in Formula 1 at Alfa Romeo Sauber to learn the ropes before being promoted to a Ferrari race seat.
That relationship has led to some early speculation that Vasseur might choose to favour Leclerc in situations where the team is forced to priorities one of their drivers over the other. But there was no sign of any concern from Sainz as he gave his first public reaction to the Frenchman's appointment.
"Whenever someone new arrives, they have extra motivation, wanting to do well for themselves and for the team," he said at a sponsor event in Spain. "You have to give him time to see how the team works – to know what changes are needed. Ferrari is very big and I know it will take time. It doesn't happen from one day to the next."
The Spaniard went on to add that he has had some interaction with Vasseur in the past, pointing to a time in his career when the Frenchman tried to coax him to Renault – before leaving the team himself. And Sainz said he had already called his new boss to properly introduce himself.
He added: "I've heard very good things about him. I know him personally, he already wanted to sign me to go to Renault. I spoke to him yesterday, I called him and I had my first contact as a Ferrari driver. I know he's going to do well."
Speaking before Vasseur's move was officially confirmed, Leclerc said of his old boss : "I worked with Fred already in the junior categories, where he believed in me and we always had a good relationship... he has always been very straightforward and honest and that is something I like."
