Frederic Vasseur has now been the Ferrari Team Principal for a year and a half. Under his direction, several things have changed within the Red Team, progressively going to shore up certain aspects in which there seemed to be deficiencies or to further improve the strengths.
The Frenchman brought new life to Maranello with his approach, also playing an important role in the arrival of Lewis Hamilton for 2025, who said he chose to move to Ferrari not only for the brand’s coat of arms, but also for his own due to the presence of Vasseur.
Since his arrival in Italy, Vasseur has also pushed to improve Ferrari’s approach to risk management, considering it a key element on which the Cavallino in the past felt external pressure. This is why the Frenchman wants to act as a sort of lightning rod, so that engineers gradually learn to manage risks in a more serene way, without fear of making mistakes.
A fundamental theme because, speaking on James Allen’s Podcast on F1 published on Thursday, Vasseur underlined how the margins for improvement are so small that any mistake or risk not taken can no longer cost one or two places on the grid, but several positions. For the Frenchman, being able to bring out something more from every single member of the company, making them feel an integral part of the project and an element that can make the difference in terms of performance, represents a central step towards finding that missing tenth that Ferrari believes is needed. still to transform into a winning team.
Race winner Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, John Elkann Ferrari, CEO, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Director, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Erik Junius
In Ferrari, the Team Principal protects the team as a sort of umbrella, both from what comes from the corporate level and from what comes from the media. It sounds like it’s a concept you’ve learned, but how do you put it into practice?
“That’s a great observation. I push the team to take more risks. It means that when you take risks you make mistakes; it goes hand in hand. But we have to take responsibility for mistakes, and my job is to take on the team’s mistakes and avoid exposing them. Because, if you are afraid to take risks, then you lose something everywhere. And in our industry, when you have five cars in a tenth, that means I’ve spent the last 15 months pushing everyone to take more risk, so that we also have one more way of understanding how to have better risk management. The more we take risks, the better we will be at managing them. I’m really satisfied with the progress we’ve made in the last year.”
How do you manage the stress on yourself and also apply the right level of pressure to the team, but without being negative? Because it is a very fine balance that could destroy the team in many ways.
“I don’t need to put pressure on myself because I’ve spent the last 35 years of my life on the pit wall. The pressure is certainly different, the approach is different. But I think sometimes, in the past, it wasn’t a ‘drive to survive’ approach, but it was a ‘win to survive’ approach, and you know that. At this stage the pressure was enormous. So, since I was endangering the company, I had to keep that in mind. I think the story of the pressure on the team is that everyone has pressure on the grid. At Ferrari we must not be afraid of the consequences of what we do. You have to manage the risk. You have to manage the limit, be at the limit in every single sector and it’s not just the driver side, but every single sector of the company. But maybe in the past the team was a little scared of the outside. But my job is probably to manage that, to push them to be a little more aggressive. And then I take responsibility for the mistakes when we make them.”
The team is doing well, you have built a good car, you have good momentum. And from an operational point of view you have improved things. How will Lewis Hamilton help you progress further?
“The driver’s contribution does not consist in the ability to be fast in qualifying. The driver’s job is to motivate everyone, to give direction to development, to be in the factory, to get the best from everyone. Because, when you have more than 1000 people, if you can get a little more out of everyone, in the end it makes a huge difference. And I really believe that Lewis will help improve performance on every single aspect and will be a good combination with Charles [Leclerc]. I’m really convinced of it. In the end, it’s a package deal. It’s not just about whether someone is fast or whatever. I’m sure we also need the experience of those who have won a championship. Lewis has won seven titles. He comes with a lot of experience and this is important for us too, because we have to be able to transfer experience and know-how from other teams. In the past we were a bit isolated. And that’s not the best way to improve.”
Lewis Hamilton with Frederic Vasseur at the Singapore GP
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
With Hamilton you won championships when he was 20 or 21. In January he will turn 40. Champions can go in two directions when they turn 40. They can maintain themselves at the highest level, and today Alonso is somewhat competitive, or they can be less competitive. Are you sure that Hamilton will be as competitive even after the age of 40?
“Yes, I’m more than confident. Because motivation makes the difference. Certainly at 40 years old if you are not in a positive environment, if you don’t have the feeling of being able to win, it is very difficult to maintain motivation. But after years and years I am really convinced that Lewis wants to have a central role in this new challenge with us, he will undoubtedly be very motivated.”
What else does this team need now to become a winning team challenging for the world title?
“A tenth of a second per lap”.
Where will you find it from?
“The fight is now so close that from one weekend to the next you can go from first to eighth position or vice versa. Red Bull was struggling in Monaco and recovered in Canada. It has happened that from one weekend to the next, due to an update, the layout of the track or the tire compound or the weather conditions, the starting grid can change. It means we have to accept that it will be like this and score good points when we are not in form. And that’s what we missed in Canada, because it was a difficult weekend for us. We didn’t score any points, but we have to maintain this momentum and this approach and not be too emotional.”
Starting action, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24 in the lead
Photo by: Erik Junius
“When it comes to performance, the most important thing is to convince everyone in the company that they are a performance differentiator. Every single member of the team will have to contribute to performance. It’s not just the head of engineers, but everyone In production, to be able to produce a little bit faster, a little bit lighter, a little bit cheaper or less expensive. And everyone is interested in that , it will work.”
Now there will be next year, which is not much different from this season. But in 2026 everything will change. The budget cap and other elements have brought the grid closer, but are you worried that 2026 could represent an opportunity for the gap to reopen?
“No, we shouldn’t be afraid. It’s true that with the current regulations there is a sort of convergence of performances. And after three or four years, we have the feeling that three, four, sometimes five teams could take pole position and this is important for the championship and also for us as competitors. In some races you don’t know if you will be first or tenth, but in terms of competition it is a fantastic feeling thanks to the stability of the regulations and the cost ceiling. Of course, when a new regulation opens there is always the risk that someone could have a big technical advantage this is more from the fans’ point of view, I think it’s a huge opportunity to create and develop something. It’s a great feeling for the team to start from scratch and launch a new project.”
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