Fittipaldi: Vasseur can do what Jean Todt did at Ferrari

Vasseur of course ousted Mattia Binotto as Ferrari F1 team boss for the start of 2023, making him the fifth man in that position since Todt departed at the end of 2007 - after 14 years in charge of the greatest team in F1 history.

Under Todt's watch, Ferrari won seven F1 constructors' titles - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007. He could also be rightfully credited with the 2008 title (their last) thanks to the infrastructure he left at Maranello for his successor, Stefano Domenicali at Maranello.

Of course, the Diamond of the Ferrari golden era of the time was Michael Schumacher, the Jewels were the likes of Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne leading the technical side, and the man who put it all together, including believing in Todt-Schumacher when many were losing hope - Luca di Montezemolo - orchestrating it all.

History shows that when Schumi finally got the car he deserved, he went on to deliver those legendary five F1 drivers' titles in a row and launched the legacy of the great team Todt built around the great German.

Two decades on, Fittipaldi, writing in his VegasInsider column believes the Italian team's 'new' Frenchman could be the architect of a new golden era for the Reds: "I see Ferrari with Frederic Vasseur now. I know him well and I know his capacity as team manager. He has been a team owner for many years.

"If you remember when Jean Todt went to Ferrari and turned them around, made things happen. Very strong team, and dominated F1 with Michael Schumacher. Frederic Vasseur has the potential to do something similar," predicted Fittiapldi.

Much has been made of Vasseur and Leclerc's long-standing association, the Frenchman mentored the Ferrari star driver when he campaigned for ART GP, in the 2016 GP3 Series which he won; the team owned by Vasseur and Todt's son, Nicolas Todt.

Fittipaldi noted with a smile: "Fred and Charles. They speak the same language, that's a big help!"

"I'm sure Frederic Vasseur and Charles will have a better understanding with each other. They won't have to translate to any other language, they have their own.

"Carlos had some very good performances and it's another year for him at Ferrari. He knows the team well, he knows the engineers, the team knows him well. It will be interesting to see the dynamic between Carlos and Charles.

"It will be interesting to see Ferrari running stronger and making different strategic plans for the races. Ferrari will always be part of Formula 1. Formula 1 doesn't exist without Ferrari," insisted 76-year-old Fittipaldi, double F1 World Champion and 14-time Grand Prix winner.

Ahead of the 2023 F1 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, it is worth noting that 20 years ago, Schumacher and Ferrari were on the fourth year of a five-year title-winning streak; their last F1 drivers' title was back in 2007 when Kimi Raikkonen was King and in 2008 their last constructors' title with the Finn and Felipe Massa getting the job done.

The Scuderia have been the 'Nearly Guys' since then, with the likes of Fernando Alonso just missing out, even Felipe Massa came desperately close, as did Sebastian Vettel before Leclerc bossed the German out of the team.

Now, with Leclerc and Sainz leading the charge they are on an upward trajectory, but remains to be seen if it's been steep enough to dethrone an 'on fire' Max Verstappen and blitz the potent Red Bull RB19 this season,

Nevertheless, Fittipaldi believes F1 power stakes are cyclic: "All the big teams, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Williams, even Sauber now. They have a historical cycle of success. They go down to the bottom and come back again. It's a question of when they come back, because they will come back. Ferrari will come back very strong"

Vasseur's second public outing in his role as Ferrari boss (after the team's new car launch last month) was in Bahrain and, it must be said, that he was good-humored, very relaxed, as if he had been in the hottest seat in F1 management for years with encouraging reports, from within the ranks, claiming an infectious new energy sweeping through Via Abetone Inferiore #4.

Time will tell if Vasseur is in it for the long haul, or set for the revolving door of TPs that seems a permanent feature at the Scuderia's head office.

Only time will tell if Fred jams that spinning door because turning the Red 'ship' around requires time, a precious commodity his more recent predecessors were not afforded.