Ted Kravitz believes Ferrari have snapped up "a good replacement" for outgoing team principal Mattia Binotto – but also had a piece of advice for the Italian team.
Frederic Vasseur is the man chosen to replace Binotto, who resigned at the end of last month after four years in charge. The Frenchman will officially start in January, having joined from Alfa Romeo-Sauber.
Initial reactions to that move have been mixed. Vasseur's experience and previous working relationship with driver Charles Leclerc makes it a shrewd move in the eyes of some, while other feel it is an underwhelming appointment for F1's most iconic marque.
Sky Sports pit lane reporter Kravitz seems to be among the former group. "They've got a good replacement for Mattia Binotto," he said of Ferrari's choice. "He's a winner in the lower Formula, not yet in F1, but with his own team in F2 and F3, Vasseur has won races and championships.
"He speaks Italian, he's been with Alfa Romeo-Sauber of course, a Swiss team with Italian backing, so he speaks the language. And crucially he knows and has a good working relationship with Ferrari's main championship challenger and star, Charles Leclerc.
"They worked together at Sauber before, so I think it's a good solution, a good appointment for Ferrari with Vasseur coming in for Binotto." But while he clearly feels there is a lot of potential for this move to work, Kravitz stressed that it only has a chance of doing so if the new boss is given the time he needs.
As is always the case at Ferrari, much of the pressure on the Frenchman will come from within. Expectations are always sky high at Maranello and, in recent years certainly, the team has had a tendency to change leadership rather regularly by F1 standards.
Kravitz added: "The only thing that they have left really is to hope that Frederic Vasseur is left to get on with it. That's the big question, as to whether the team boss merry-go-round that we have seen at Ferrari in recent years will continue.
"After all, Vasseur is the fourth Ferrari team boss since Stefano Domenicali's departure in 2014, and that is quite a lot. Charles Leclerc has talked about how he has a good relationship with Vasseur, and I don't think he's throwing any doubt over his previous relationship with Binotto, but to have someone with whom he's worked and raced together before can only be a good thing."
