A former Ferrari driver launched a scathing attack on outgoing team boss Mattia Binotto, who he says should have been "kicked out years ago".
Binotto was in charge of the Italian team for four years, culminating in their botched title challenge this season. Credit must go to him for overseeing the creation of their very fast F1-75 car, but he also received a lot of criticism for the strategy mistakes which hampered the team's championship ambition.
Rene Arnoux, who drove in 32 F1 races for Ferrari over three seasons in the 1980s, appears to be one of the outgoing boss' harshest critics. The Frenchman not only feels that the Scuderia is better off without him, but asserted that he would have replaced Binotto much sooner had he been in charge.
"The mistakes he made are unforgivable – I have never been on Binotto's side," he told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Someone who says 'next year will be better' does not deserve the job. I would have kicked him out years ago.
"Behaviour like his is intolerable when you're leading the best team in the world. You may or may not like [former Ferrari chief] Jean Todt, but he would never have said 'next year will be better'. He won and when he won he thought about the following year. But there are few people like Todt and [Ron] Dennis."
Vasseur, whose appointment was confirmed earlier this month, starts the job officially on January 9. He will be tasked with living up to expectations for the 2023 season, even though it will naturally take time for him to fully settle in as an outside hire.
Fans have been split over the Frenchman, who is an inspired choice in the eyes of some and an underwhelming one for others. Arnoux appears to be on the fence about his compatriot, but does have one piece of advice for the new team principal.
He added: "I don't know much about him. We have seen the results he has achieved with a mid-range team like Alfa Romeo, but managing Alfa and managing Ferrari are very different things. He has the necessary competence and I hope he will be able to pull the team apart from him in terms of technology and strategy, without which you won't win the world championship.
"It's very complicated in Maranello because there's a lot of pressure, you need someone with a strong fist. You have to think that what matters is the result. Vasseur must follow in the footsteps of Todt."
