Flavio Briatore urges Ferrari top management to “give Frederic Vasseur some time”. Flavio Briatore on Ferrari's difficult start to the season.

Italian businessman Flavio Briatore, former team principal of Benetton and Renault, was recently interviewed by the Italian media and asked to share his view on difficult moment Scuderia Ferrari is going through in this start of the 2023 Formula 1 campaign.

Following the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari sit in a disappointing fourth place in the Formula 1 World Constructors’ Championship. The Maranello team, which was expected to challenge Red Bull for the titles this season, is already 61 behind the Austrian side after the difficulties encountered in the first round of the new campaign.

As a result, many Italian news media outlets have reported that a storm is brewing in Maranello ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend at the 5.278-kilometre Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne.

Former Formula One manager Flavio Briatore supports Frédéric Vasseur and urged the Ferrari top management to give him the necessary time to turn things around, even if the short-term results do not live up to expectations:

“It happens all the time,” the former Renault Formula 1 Team principal said, in a recent interview for the Italian daily newspaper Corriere dello Sport. “There are people who leave Maranello, and spend the winter spreading rumours, when they should just take a close look at why they haven’t won for over 15 years.” – the Italian businessman pointed out.

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Despite the fact that he is already in the Italian media’s crosshairs, the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, who replaced Mattia Binotto at the end of the previous championship, is still the right man for the job according to Flavio Briatore.

“You can’t just change one individual at the top of an organisation. You need heavyweights in the team, which is not the case today. I know Fred well. He is a hard worker, he has integrity. He has just arrived and is putting a team together with the people he found when he got there. Give him some time.” – the Former Formula One manager concluded.