Vasseur can lead Ferrari to 'have a say in the title next season' - Grosjean

Former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean has backed fellow Frenchman Frederic Vasseur to handle his new role as Ferrari team boss.

With Mattia Binotto ousted at the end of the season, his successor is Vasseur - the highly experienced motor racing manager whose last assignment was running the Alfa Romeo-branded Sauber team.

"Ferrari is a huge challenge for anyone," Grosjean, who has more recently been racing in Indycar, told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"But I am convinced that Fred is up to the task. He is close friends with Charles Leclerc, which should help the atmosphere, and he also knows Carlos Sainz very well."

Grosjean, however, does not dispute that Ferrari was justified in wanting to install a new boss.

"Ferrari had a very good car in 2022," he said.

"Unfortunately, the team leadership was not so good. I believe that Ferrari can have a say in the title next season."

As for Vasseur, 36-year-old Grosjean agrees that he is a wise selection.

"I won Formula 3 for Fred's team in 2007," he said. "He's a born competitor who understands motorsport through and through.

"I've actually never met a team boss who has so much technical understanding and a very good feel for what a driver needs. Sometimes it was almost as if he were a driver himself."