How Ferrari chiefs now feel about Fred Vasseur’s position after their double disqualification in China

Although Ferrari haven’t won a Formula 1 championship since 2008, it’s still the manufacturer that puts the most pressure on its drivers and team principal.

Frederic Vasseur took on the role of Ferrari team principal in 2023, having previously held the role at Renault, Sauber and Alfa Romeo.

He’s overseen an immediate improvement in the team’s fortunes after they narrowly missed out on winning the constructors’ championship to McLaren last season.

Vasseur played a key role in Charles Leclerc’s victory at Monza last year, while the signing of Lewis Hamilton was partly down to the pair’s previous relationship.

He’s overseen an improvement in the team’s strategy calls, while Ferrari seem well-placed ahead of the upcoming regulation changes in 2026.

However, Ferrari are understood to be in support of the return of V10 engines, harking back to the glory days of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

The Chinese Grand Prix signalled how far away from those glory days Ferrari are, despite Hamilton’s Sprint Race victory.

For the first time in the team’s history, they suffered a double disqualification, and even worse, it was for two completely different reasons.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Ferrari board support Fred Vasseur despite Chinese Grand Prix double disqualification

Journalist Roberto Boccafogli was speaking on The Race F1 Podcast in the aftermath of a very difficult weekend for the Scuderia.

Boccafogli was asked about how the Ferrari board reacted to the double disqualification in China and explained: “The board of Ferrari is very calm, at least they say they are.

“I’m sure that Mr. [Benedetto] Vigna is, of course, himself disappointed and sorry, but working very much on the setting Ferrari has got now, which means Mr. Vasseur.

“Mr. Vasseur, lots of power has been given [to him], but Vasseur now has got the team that he wanted to have with Loic Serra and Jerome d’Ambrosio, I mean now it’s full of his people.

“He’s a person who likes to build the team around himself. Lewis feels he’s in a special place, so maybe it’s just a question of giving time to the ingredients to melt.”

READ MORE: Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton is still doing the ‘trademark’ thing behind the scenes he did 20 years ago

Fred Vasseur will has the full trust of Ferrari despite mistakes in Shanghai

Boccafogli was then asked whether confidence in Vasseur still exists within the team, and he continued: “He is positive over the team, and the team is trusting in him.

“The team is delighted to work with him, for sure, he’s a very straight man, no words, no tricks and so on, he’s very straight.

“For sure, the team trust him very much, but when we say that it’s more than 1,000 people, 1,500 people, so not all of them can be on the same part.

Symmetry at its best 🪞 pic.twitter.com/jEszpWOVFJ

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 28, 2025

“From my personal feeling, when I was there, so up to eight months ago, from the pit wall, there was a big trust in him.

“From the drivers, there was a big trust in him. I see Hamilton trusting him very much, so in the end, the answer must be, yes, the team trusts him.

“I repeat, Mr. Vigna and Mr. [John] Elkann trust him, so still the peak frame is very positive.”

Ferrari making change to Lewis Hamilton’s car ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix

Vasseur knows that the pressure will quickly ramp up if Ferrari don’t discover why their car isn’t consistently quick across a race weekend.

Hamilton went from putting his car on pole for the Sprint Race in China and driving away from Max Verstappen, to struggling to keep Leclerc behind him despite the Monegasque’s broken front wing.

Ferrari will make a change to Hamilton’s car in Japan based on data they’ve seen in the simulator over the past two weeks.

A new floor is being installed on both cars at the next race in Bahrain, but Ferrari know they can’t afford to allow McLaren and their drivers to open up too much of a gap if they have any championship ambitions this year.