Can Fred Vasseur save Ferrari F1?

If the only way is up, then the Ferrari hierarchy in chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna can only have been expecting delivery of both titles when they opted to hire the highly experienced Frenchman. Anything less than retaining second place this year as a bare minimum can surely only be considered a failure. This is Ferrari after all where success is expected. Of course, under Binotto last season, there were failings, both on the pit wall in terms of strategy, and with the reliability of the SF-75. The combination undermined the team's championship challenge, and that of driver Charles Leclerc.

Fred Vasseur is a shrewd man, however. Given his extensive motorsport career, he knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he was approached by the Scuderia to replace Binotto, who did little wrong other than failing to reclaim the holy grail. The 55-year-old is wary to reflect too deeply on Binotto's reign, particularly his final season that ultimately culminated in his exit after four years in charge, and 27 years overall with the team.

"If you look at the performance of the team last year, you also need to consider what happened the season before, when they started the project," said Vasseur, with regard to Ferrari's decision to focus early on the new aerodynamic rules that were introduced at the start of 2022.

In an interview with this writer, he added: "Last year was the first year of the new regulations, and it was a challenge.

"The team did a very good job overall at the beginning of the season. They started a bit earlier than some teams, and the others caught up. Mercedes and Red Bull were also fighting for the championship the year before, and this season with Aston Martin, they gave up the last two seasons to focus very early on the 2023 project, and it's paying off today.

"Now, the situation with Mattia, I will never make any comment on this, I was not there."

Of course, despite his position as team principal of Alfa Romeo and CEO at Sauber, Vasseur was never going to refuse Ferrari when it came calling. Instead, there were other considerations that were uppermost in his mind when it came to mulling over the offer that was made.

"The feelings, for sure, were good because when you are in my business, to be linked with Ferrari is the top of the project," said Vasseur. "But I have four children – with the same wife! We were together when I started my company 30 years ago. I had to consider all aspects, and family is a big one.

"My youngest recently turned 15, he has school and it's a big change for him. I just wanted to be sure I had everybody on board. But my wife was even more convinced than myself because she said 'What do you want? Why are you hesitating?' She was good.

"So it took me one day to think about it with my wife, because it's a big change, and you can't say no. For sure, you know you will have another level of target, of responsibility. But it's such an iconic brand that it's quite impossible to say no."

At Ferrari, there is always a target on the back of any team principal because the demands are so high, and from all levels – the board, the media, and the fans. When things go wrong and situations occur, as was the case last season with Binotto, the scrutiny is magnified ten-fold because of what is expected.

Vasseur, however, is thick-skinned. "I would say the main concern was not the pressure," he said. "There is always pressure.

"I probably had more pressure when I started ASM 30 years ago, when each Monday I needed to get paid by a driver to avoid bankruptcy. That was a level of pressure. Pressure is not only when you are fighting for P1 and P2. In this business, sometimes you have mega-huge pressure.

"Somehow it's the DNA of business that we have to deal with pressure. Everybody has his own pressure at his own level. But I'm not affected or scared by this. It's just that it's more demanding, and I didn't want to expose my family to it. For me, it's one thing but for my family, it's another."

For now, the jury is out on Vasseur, not least because the SF-23 is a remnant of the Binotto era, a car he has played no part in given he did not start at Ferrari until early January this year. Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have made clear their feelings on the vagaries of the machinery, one that has displayed reasonable one-lap pace in qualifying but has fallen away during a grand prix due to it being too aggressive on its tyres.

At the last race in Canada, with updates on the car, there were signs Ferrari had turned a corner, certainly on race day as Leclerc and Sainz finished fourth and fifth, rising from mid-grid slots as the mixed conditions on Saturday played a part, whilst the latter also collected a penalty.

These are still early days for Vasseur, who is attempting to make his mark. Just don't call it Fred's Ferrari.

"It's a no-name project," insisted Vasseur. "The DNA of a team is that we try to improve everywhere and every single day, to have this kind of approach, the continuous improvement.

"If you say that in one month, the team will be okay, that is the start of the end. You know after that month there is another, and you have to be better. And it will never be a Fred Vasseur team. It will always be the Ferrari team first. It will have my touch but I'm not paying any attention to this.

"The most important thing for me is to be sure we are going in the right direction. For sure, I have to make some changes, and the approach will be different. It is about taking it step by step, hopefully going in the right direction."

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.