It has been just over two years since Ferrari enlisted the services of Fred Vasseur to lead them back to the front of the Formula 1 field.
The operation so far has not been a success. Even the spectacular signing of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton has been unable to save them.
Ferrari’s 17-year title drought looms larger than it ever has, and it would be reasonable for the Tifosi to be uneasy over the situation. Their continued support of team boss Vasseur will wear thin eventually.
2024 marked the closest they have come to ending their streak, finishing just 14 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship race. Their winter development has since led them in a poor direction.
Hamilton isn’t satisfied with Ferrari’s factory and doesn’t believe that they think outside of the box enough. They need to push to be more innovative, which will be particularly important from the start of the 2026 F1 regulations.
Vasseur made an honest admission about Ferrari exit rumours and said that he always put pressure on himself. He’s arriving at a critical crossroads for the rest of his career now.
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Fred Vasseur has ‘certainly not’ carried out his responsibility to avoid Ferrari F1 sacking
Hamilton has put Vasseur in an impossible position by demanding both upgrades for this year’s car and a strong focus on next year’s car.
It’s probably best to put all attention into the latter, but there is still prize money up for grabs this season and momentum to build ahead of the new rules.
Gian Carlo Minardi doesn’t believe that Vasseur has fulfilled his responsibility of bringing stability to Ferrari by avoiding rumours of a sacking. They’ve changed bosses too many times over the last decade, and it has hurt them.
“It is a very negative spiral as far as I’m concerned, in the sense that it is useless to make plans when we are evidently facing a type of event with Ferrari that for years has been planning this event, this championship [2026],” he said.
“There is always one man in command with a working group that has been working on this operation for years.
“We have always maintained that continuity and planning are the fruit of the results, something that Ferrari has certainly not maintained and done in the last eight years, so much that even today we talk about substitutions. We talk about changes.”
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Why Fred Vasseur disagrees with Lewis Hamilton about Ferrari’s ‘main problem’ in 2025
Fortunately for Ferrari, upcoming races in Austria and Britain do appear to suit the characteristics of their car, and should leave them in better stead to perform well.
Back in Maranello, Vasseur disagrees with Hamilton about Ferrari’s ‘main problem’ and doesn’t see the need to bring upgrades all the time.
Of course, it’s important to understand them and not add parts for the sake of it, but Ferrari does need to try something different.
Otherwise, they risk finishing in fourth place in the constructors’ and losing any sense of momentum they had coming into the season.
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