Charles Leclerc has highlighted the critical reason why Fred Vasseur was handed a new multi-year deal by Ferrari, with him knowing how to put aside his emotion and focus on the task at hand.
Ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, it was announced that Vasseur had been handed a new contract, despite recent reports from Italian media that he was set to be axed.
The complete opposite has happened for the Frenchman, at a time when results have started to improve for the Scuderia.
Leclerc is on a run of four podiums across the last six grands prix, boosting the Maranello-based team's chances of securing second in the F1 constructors' title.
Asked for his reaction to Vasseur's new contract, Leclerc told media: "I'm really, really happy. I mean, it's not that it was coming as a surprise.
"But I'm really happy, especially in the past month, there were quite a few rumours, it's always the case around the team, so to finally have the official news out is important, and I'm really happy."
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Vasseur's special strength
Crucially, Vasseur is Ferrari's first non-Italian team principal since Jean Todt departed in 2008, with Leclerc hailing his ability to avoid being distracted by the emotion behind the team.
Ferrari is renowned for being full of emotion and passion, linked to the team's roots as an Italian manufacturer.
In Leclerc's eyes, controlling the emotion is a huge strength of Vasseur's, as is his ability to get the most out of each individual in Maranello.
"Without going into comparing the different years, I think Fred has an incredible vision," added Leclerc.
"And I think what's very difficult within Ferrari is the emotion is very much part of the daily job, because Italian people in general [show emotion], and that's what makes Ferrari so special.
"[Italians are] extremely passionate about Ferrari, but Fred really knows how to leave his emotions aside and have a clear vision of where we are at, no matter how much noise there's around the team.
"And this is very, very important. But then, apart from that, he's got, obviously, many more qualities. One of them is also to extract the maximum out of every single person at the factory. And this, when you put everything together, makes a big difference."
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