Ferrari introduced after Miami that Leclerc’s long-time race engineer Xavi Marcos was being moved on to a brand new function – though it isn’t clear in the intervening time what place he’ll take.
Marcos is being changed by Ferrari’s present efficiency engineer Bryan Bozzi, who has been with the staff for 10 years.
It’s understood that that is the primary time Ferrari has carried out a mid-season race engineer change like this since Rob Smedley was introduced in to work with Felipe Massa from the 2006 European Grand Prix as substitute for Gabriele Delli Colli.
The rareness of such an in-season change has prompted a good diploma of intrigue in regards to the causes for Ferrari making such a change now – which has solely been fuelled additional by Leclerc saying he was not concerned within the decision-making course of.
Requested by Motorsport.com to elucidate what prompted the change, and the way a lot of a threat it was to be executed amid an ultra-close struggle with McLaren and Pink Bull, Leclerc stated: “Clearly it’s very, very tight within the entrance and all the things makes a distinction.
“Nonetheless, the choice was made between the staff and Xavi. They’ve had different plans in thoughts, I assume, and it was communicated to me proper after Miami.
Frederic Vasseur, Crew Principal and Normal Supervisor, Scuderia Ferrari
Picture by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Photographs
“However having stated that, Bryan, who will take the function of Xavi from now onwards, is an individual I’ve been working with since I arrived in Ferrari. He’s at all times been my efficiency engineer, so he is aware of precisely how all the things works. So, it’s not like I’m ranging from zero and it’s going to be a whole readaptation.
“It’s been tremendous easy till now, and I’m certain it would proceed that manner and we’ll be at our 100% already from this weekend. That’s all I can say.”
Whereas Ferrari has beforehand not supplied many particulars in regards to the pondering behind the engineering change, staff principal Fred Vasseur defined at Imola why he went for it.
“Bryan was there earlier than me,” defined Vasseur. “He was with Charles for a very long time, they usually have a really, excellent technical collaboration. They price one another very extremely.
“It was, I feel, the traditional step for Bryan additionally, and you realize that we’re in a form of steady enchancment. We have been pondering that Bryan was a step ahead for us and, on the finish of the day, we’re preventing for thousandths of a second.
“In case you have the sensation that you’ve one thing a bit higher someplace, it is at all times good to go for it and to not say, let’s keep like we’re.
“I am actually satisfied that Bryan is superb. He has expertise of the automobile, and the expertise of the crew. He is aware of all people within the staff and the variation might be very simple.”
