Hans-Joachim Stuck thinks that Ferrari is not yet out for the title. The Italian racing team does have to work to solve all technical problems, otherwise it will be quite difficult, he says in an interview with Europsport.de. He also expresses his confidence to team boss Frédéric Vasseur and compares Ferrari to the situation at Mercedes.
Ferrari suffered a number of problems during the opening race in Bahrain. Charles Leclerc had to park his car next to the track on the fortieth lap due to technical problems and teammate Carlos Sainz was unable to keep behind Fernando Alonso’s fast Aston Martin car and therefore lost his chance for a podium finish.
Stuck: ‘It will run smoothly under Vasseur’
According to Stuck, there is still a chance for Ferrari to fight for the world title. That is mainly due to the fact that they have appointed Vasseur as team boss. “He’s the right guy who knows what’s important in motorsport,” says Stuck. “Ferrari is of course a big team and there is a lot involved, so it is logical that it will take a while to start up, but I expect that everything will run smoothly under Vasseur.”
The German former driver also talks about the technical problems at Ferrari. ‘It really cannot be that the same problems as last season occur immediately in the first race,’ grumbles Stuck. “It’s a well-known story at Ferrari, too often things go wrong.” Still, Stuck thinks that the Italian racing stable is now more alert. ‘In contrast to the past, they will now solve things more quickly, because there will be more pressure from above.’
Stuck: ‘Wolff is the best team boss Mercedes can have’
Just like with Ferrari, things are not yet running smoothly at Mercedes. However, the German racing stable is a lot more open and honest about it than they are at the Scuderia. According to Stuck, that is a sign of team boss Toto Wolff’s great ability. “I can’t imagine a better team boss for Mercedes than Wolff,” he praised. “Mercedes just made a mistake in the concept of the car and Wolff is honest about it.” The German does not expect happy times for Mercedes: “There is still a lot of work to be done for the team.”
