21 March 2023 , 22:13
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Frederic Vasseur finally had some good news for Charles Leclerc as he confirmed that the Monegasque's first engine of the season was salvaged.
Ferrari hoped to have overcome the reliability issues which contributed to the collapse of their title challenge last season. But the same old story unfolded at the Bahrain Grand Prix when, seemingly on for a podium finish, Leclerc was forced to pull over at the side of the track with engine problems.
That was after having already changed the control electronics and energy store that he had been using in practice. So a third one was required last weekend in Jeddah, along with some other components, which resulted in a 10-place grid penalty.
The disruption leaves Ferrari fourth in the constructors' championship after two races and Leclerc eighth in the drivers' standings with just six points. So he will be delighted to hear a positive update from his team boss.
Vasseur had confirmed that the first engine can be used again, reducing the risk of more penalties further down the line. "We were quite confident about the outcome of the issue in Bahrain but we didn't want to take any risk," said the Frenchman.
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"We’ll use the engine one a bit later into the season. But it was just a matter of having a clean weekend this weekend. So no concerns over the ones that are in there for this weekend. We are always concerned about everything but not especially about the engine."
Frederic Vasseur was able to provide a positive update (Getty Images)Leclerc has seemed irritable in these first few weeks of the season, given the problems he and his team have faced. Former F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi has noticed the Monegasque's frustration, but feels he needs to be more grateful to be working with his old boss Vasseur again.
"I think that Charles is demanding a lot from his team because of what has happened last year," the Brazilian told Kelbet. "He probably felt that the time wasn't completely there [at the Saudi GP] because of the issues recently.
"Charles probably lost some confidence in the team and he is frustrated because of last year. Now, he should be very grateful to have Frederic Vasseur on the team because he knows how to perform."