Ferrari, Vasseur downplays Maranello’s deep-rooted problems: humility is lacking
Ferrari’s 2025 Formula 1 season ended with results that were hard to disguise, despite Frederic Vasseur’s repeated attempts to soften the message after each weekend. The SF-25 was never a competitive car, unable to challenge for the top and often struggling even for podiums. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished the season exhausted and disillusioned. At Maranello, however, discussions continued to focus on minor details, while the entire technical structure remained lacking.
Vasseur: “We are a group of people who want to win”
The French team principal once again tried to temper expectations after Abu Dhabi: “The season was difficult, but we must distinguish between weekend performances, overall results, and the team’s long-term development,” he said. This statement seems aimed at protecting the team, while ignoring the growing frustration among fans. It has now been eighteen years without a drivers’ championship, and discontent is inevitable.
Fred Vasseur then revisited the start of the season, attempting to contextualize Ferrari’s shortcomings: “From day one in Bahrain it was clear that the pace wasn’t exceptional,” he admitted. “The disqualification in China cost us 25 points and handed six to our competitors. After three or four races, McLaren was already one hundred points ahead.” An explanation, but one that does not erase the SF-25’s structural limitations.
The Frenchman stressed the internal competitiveness of the team, highlighting some positive moments: “We are a group of people who want to win, and on a couple of occasions we recovered well. After the summer break, the pace was improving: Austin, Mexico, even Azerbaijan went well.” Isolated incidents, however, that did not change the overall picture.
According to Fred Vasseur, many difficulties stem from the extremely tight nature of modern F1, a “problem” affecting all teams: “We struggled with details, because today a tenth of a second can mean ten positions. In Q1, you can drop from sixth to sixteenth in an instant. A small mistake and you’re out; the next weekend you’re sixth or seventh.” While technically true, the discussion fails to address the core issue: Ferrari lacks a proper technical structure.
Humility is missing at Ferrari
The team principal also mentioned the minimal advantage of the best teams: “Only McLaren and Max had the margin to manage a problem,” he said. “For everyone else, it took little to fall behind. Even Max ended up eleventh in Budapest. It’s good for the show, but tough for the teams.” An analysis that seems to normalize Ferrari’s overall performance well below expectations? The question is legitimate.
Fred Vasseur emphasized the “convergence” of performance among teams: “There’s a leveling, perhaps due to wind tunnel allocations that help those further behind. We might start next year with an even bigger gap, but that was F1’s intention.” A statement that shifts attention to external factors rather than internal ones.
Finally, the Frenchman reiterated the unpredictable nature of the championship: “We’ve never had a season where a car can be eighteenth one week and fifth or sixth the next,” he concluded. Words that, in our view, attempt to minimize a clear failure: a team without clear technical direction, an underperforming car, and management that continues to focus on minor details while Ferrari repeatedly lacks a solid foundation.
Humility is probably also missing in Maranello, and this is not a new problem. The humility to admit that a true technical disaster occurred, in every respect. The excuse of halting development to focus on 2026 is just the tip of an iceberg that has already melted at the base. Too many things went wrong, and it cannot be limited to the details of a single poor practice session.
