With the first part of the 2024 Formula 1 championship over, the series arrives in Hungary at the Hungaroring circuit, the venue for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Scuderia Ferrari, after an excellent start to the season, is facing a very delicate moment mainly due to the development of the SF-24, a car that is not responding on the track in a manner consistent with the data indicated by the simulations. This is the first real moment of difficulty since Frederic Vasseur took the helm of the Maranello team.
The disappointing 2023 Formula 1 campaign has been considered by everyone, both internally and externally at Ferrari, as the result of a technical project born during the previous management, namely that of Mattia Binotto. Simultaneously with the sporting results, the French manager is carrying out a very invasive reorganization of the Ferrari Racing Department, designed according to his functional vision.
However, the verdict on the track counts a lot. The aerodynamic update package that debuted in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya turned out to be a flop, yet until the eve of the Silverstone round, the team principal of the historic Italian team repeatedly confirmed that there would be no rollback, namely restoring a platform to its point of consistency.
Translated into practical language, it means shelving the aerodynamic package of updates brought to the track in Barcelona to return to the Imola specification. Essentially, restoring a car configuration that provides the same results in both virtual and real contexts. When in the free practice sessions for the British Grand Prix the pair of Ferrari drivers used different aerodynamic specifications, it became clear that Frederic Vasseur’s convictions, staunchly defended in Spain and Austria, gave way to the harsh reality.
The SF-24 single-seater raced the British Grand Prix with the old aerodynamic configuration. A decision that forced the French manager to a communicative turnaround, indicating the confusion of the number one of Ferrari’s sports management.
Alongside Ferrari’s setback after the triumphant moment on the streets of Monte Carlo in the Monaco Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc winning the race in front of his home fans and his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz completing a great double-podium finish, rumors of a possible hiring of Adrian Newey by Aston Martin have created a climate of tension around Ferrari. Public opinion is divided between those who believe it is possible to win even without the brilliant English designer and those, in the grip of disappointment, who find it unacceptable that the legendary car designer is an big blow to the Maranello team.
Frederic Vasseur recently admitted that Ferrari is certainly interested in the former Red Bull engineer. Asked about Adrian Newey in a recent interview ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, he admitted that he would be the same if they asked him if he was interested in Max Verstappen. The French manager pointed out that he would like to see which team principal would say no to such strong F1 figures like the three-time Formula 1 world champion or the legendary car designer. However, he emphasized that just being called Adrian Newey is not enough to be immediately successful. Anyone at the top of a hierarchical pyramid must go beyond the resume of the technician they intend to hire, asking important questions as significant as the professional record of the person sought.
How could he integrate into the team? What can he offer in the long term? According to Frederic Vasseur, these and other questions must always be considered when a new professional figure of Adrian Newey’s caliber is considered for strengthening the technical area. The team principal of Ferrari is fully aware of the impact a prominent figure like the English engineer can have within an organizational structure.
However, in any sport, when you have the opportunity to hire a champion, it is the world around them that must be shaped to extract all the added value. Fred Vasseur’s comments can be considered as those of someone who necessarily has to bide time before any official announcement or move ahead in case Adrian Newey ends up with what was once Jordan.
Another refusal, the umpteenth in over 20 years of courting, would have the taste of humiliation especially at a time when the top management is sparing no expense, just think of the salaries that Scuderia Ferrari will guarantee its drivers from the 2025 Formula 1 championship. It is true that other teams have won without the former Red Bull designer, proving that everyone can be useful but no one is indispensable.
In this sense, Frederic Vasseur pointed out that since the beginning of his tenure, over 50 technicians have been hired from competitors, without the need to issue an official statement for each new collaboration. A way to show that Ferrari is at a standstill in terms of the technical market. Obviously, not everyone is called Adrian Newey, and Ferrari fans have now come to see the Designer with a capital “D” as the only one capable of pulling Ferrari out of the quicksand of mediocrity after more than fifteen years. Perhaps improperly, Fred Vasseur’s credibility is tied to the Adrian Newey affair.
Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
