How Vettel exposed a key Ferrari culture shift

Forget day-one conservatism and the usual game of pre-season poker. Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel will sweep both Formula 1 titles this season and everybody will have a great time as they do it.

That's the prediction to make for 2019 if you buy in to the conviction and happiness that radiated from pacesetter Vettel after just one day behind the wheel. Either Vettel was orchestrating an outrageous bluff on Monday evening, covering for some major Ferrari concerns, or the happiness filtering through the corridors of Maranello in recent weeks has begun evolving into early but genuine zest.

Vettel is one of the most emotional F1 drivers on the grid, so it is not hard to tell when he is happy. But he is also a veteran of 11 pre-season testing programmes and a four-time world champion who knows that the war isn't won on day one of eight at Barcelona in February.

That affords him benefit of the doubt, given he knows the danger of hyperbole. It also means we can take his words with only a light sprinkling of salt when he admitted, when asked by Autosport, that "we couldn't have hoped for a better day".

"It was unbelievable," Vettel said. "I think the car was working really well. We had no issues slowing us down, we completed the programme just the way we wanted. We were able to squeeze a little bit more out even.

"Obviously it's very early, the first day, and it's meaningless in a couple of weeks. But for now I think huge compliments to everyone back at the factory. How they tackled the new rules and regulations and what they put on track today is very close to perfection in the first day of driving."

Vettel was as buzzing as you're ever likely to see a top-line driver on day one of testing, and his words matched his demeanour. It also tallies with a 2019-edition Ferrari that looks, feels and acts differently. This was a significant takeaway from day one, especially as headline pace is not the important thing right now.

With a new man in charge and free of the dark cloud that followed it through the latter half of last season, Ferrari has made an enthusiastic start to the new year in many ways. It would be disingenuous to declare that new team principal Mattia Binotto has transformed Ferrari in less than two months but the impact of removing Maurizio Arrivabene and placing Binotto in charge is already evident.

Binotto says Ferrari might have missed some joy, but Vettel says that's been visible in 2019. Neither will blame Arrivabene or say Ferrari was flawed, but they don't need to. Nor do we need to be geniuses to connect the dots

Vettel gave us a first emphatic look at this on Monday. When speaking in public, Formula 1 personalities generally mouth empty platitudes or cloak their real thoughts by careful omissions. Often you have to decode by reading between the lines: someone describing the working environment under a new leader does not have to openly denigrate their predecessor to help identify the previous regime's shortcomings. If, for instance, it's said that a new recruit will enhance a team because he cares about people, the unspoken suggestion is clearly that his predecessor did not.

Ferrari seemed a scared, uninspired and unhappy place under Arrivabene by the end of 2018. But nobody at Maranello - least of all Binotto, a loyal Ferrari man through and through - was about to denounce Arrivabene's leadership qualities or even hint at the psychological struggle Ferrari was going through.

Last week, as Ferrari launched its new car, Binotto said: "The philosophy for next season certainly is try to enjoy [it]. That's something that we were maybe missing in the past." And Arrivabene, whose increased prominence following Sergio Marchionne's death last summer led to more problems, is firmly part of that past.

It's wrong to read too much into Binotto's words and declare he was taking a swipe at the previous boss, but there's definitely something to surmise from that comment.

One change up top can have the same effect as dozens below. When there's a toxic culture at the head of a company that will trickle down, but if ingenuity, creativity, appreciation and risk-taking are encouraged then that will filter through

More significantly, there's a definite connection between what Binotto talked about and what we heard from Vettel on Monday. After topping the opening day of pre-season testing and racking up more laps than any other driver, Vettel declared: "If we can maintain the level of joy and fun I found on the track today and saw on people's faces the last couple of months, then I'm positive and hopeful for the future."

So, Binotto says Ferrari might have been missing some joy, but Vettel says that's been perfectly visible in 2019. Neither will say Arrivabene is to blame or that Ferrari was a flawed place last season, but they do not need to. Nor do we need to be geniuses to connect the dots.

Ferrari is revitalised this year from its change at the top and the cultural shift that has triggered. Vettel even said "the team is the same, apart from the team principal". Ferrari grew to become Mercedes' most consistent challenger over the past two seasons, winning five races in 2017 and six in '18. But an on-edge, increasingly tense Vettel made mistakes and the team contributed to its own downfall as well.

Vettel acknowledged it is not "rocket science" to deduce Ferrari was actually quite close to being a title-winning team again. "The team and the foundation is the same, and I think Mattia will give you the same answer," he said. "I think it would be madness to change everybody and move too many things around."

One key change at the top can have the same seismic effect as dozens underneath. When there's a toxic culture at the head of a company, that will trickle down to everybody underneath. If ingenuity, creativity, appreciation and risk-taking are encouraged and praised then that will filter through as well. It's far too simplistic to say Ferrari was one kind of place under Arrivabene and has swung rapidly to the other under Binotto, but that is absolutely the vibe that is emanating from the team at the moment.

Vettel certainly seems reinvigorated by the atmosphere in Ferrari, but appears to have an affinity for his new boss on a personal level too.

"It's a big challenge for Mattia," he said. "I think from my side I will try to support him as much as I can, and I think he tries to support the team as much as he can. He's been around a long time, he knows everybody, so in this regard there's no news. It's obviously news [for him] to be in that position and have that responsibility.

"But so far I think everybody's having a smile on their face, focused and happy to come in for work and do their jobs. So obviously, days like this and a start like this are quite rewarding, with a lot of laps on the clock and a general good feeling from the car.

"Hopefully we can carry that into this week and next week."

F1 should relish the prospect of Ferrari doing that. The benefits for Mercedes, which has won every title going since 2014, of having a leader in Toto Wolff who facilitates a working environment that blends fierce professionalism with human compassion have been clear to see.

Ferrari's early culture shift hints that it is edging towards something similar. It will always be Ferrari, and likely retain the potential to subside into chaos, but if that can be reined in then Maranello and its people are an immensely powerful resource, and Vettel is one of the best drivers in the world.

Harnessing Ferrari's potential and nurturing an atmosphere that gets the right kind of emotion out of Vettel must have been right at the top of Binotto's job list. The early signs are he has made a very encouraging start towards achieving both.