F1: Ferrari’s mixed messages – someone is not telling the truth. Ferrari's internal communication is under scrutiny.

At Ferrari, it would be enough to agree on things every now and then. Fred Vasseur and Charles Leclerc don’t seem to be in agreement. Logically, one of them must be wrong, right!? Given how well we know the reactions and words of the Monegasque driver in front of the cameras and his inability to hide emotions and the truth, the hypothesis that the inaccuracy comes from the team principal seems much more likely. This scenario opens up several interpretations.

Communication, the great unknown

It’s well known that the communication from the historic Maranello team isn’t the team’s strong suit—this is all true. Despite that, it would be nice to see some coherent communication, at least occasionally. Not only to avoid confusing fans worldwide but also the media. Fred Vasseur is annoyed because the press has been targeting him a bit too much lately. But these things don’t help.

Wolff may be a great manipulator, an excellent media tactician. Whatever you want. However, when it was time to apologize, he always did. He didn’t hide behind just press releases. Is it too much to expect something like this from Ferrari? Wouldn’t it be, not only fair and sincere toward their supporters, but also a way to unite the environment and gain more support?

Yes, because although some fans defend Ferrari unconditionally, there are others who don’t like hearing fanciful stories. When they do, they criticize and stir up trouble on social media, where the controversy blossoms, only to end up in newspapers, magazines, podcasts, websites, and so on. Ferrari could avoid all this with just a little effort, by considering the chain of events.

Who’s telling the truth, Fred or Charles?

Now, let’s get to the heart of the matter. Recently, the now-not-so-jovial Fred talked about the Prancing Horse. He did so by referring to the performance shown on the track in the first two races of the 2025 season. In addition to the reasons behind the disappointing results in Australia and China, Frederic Vasseur fired up the team for the Japanese Grand Prix.

He did so by highlighting a point that came from internal analyses, following a performance below expectations. According to the French manager, Ferrari has been unable to extract the performance from the car, both in the pool of Albert Park and in the Shanghai circuit. The gap to McLaren is therefore not accurate, it’s heavier than what we’ve seen.

This is also why, at Suzuka, after various studies done in the simulator, where both main drivers spent a lot of time to improve their understanding of the car, the Frenchman expects a different scenario. A weekend where Ferrari wants to access this elusive performance, which has remained unexpressed so far. All of this while awaiting the first updates to definitively fix things.

So far, so good. Well done Fred. Great job. We are all with you. But then come the usual Thursday statements, where the Ferrari drivers speak freely in front of the cameras. It’s a moment to take stock of the situation and at least get an initial sense of what to expect for the race weekend. Charles Leclerc hasn’t been confident for a while. As always, he’ll give his best, but the first impressions are not exactly exciting.

On the technical front, the Monegasque doesn’t believe the 2025 World Championship is any more difficult than the last one, emphasizing how the performance of the SF-25 is not enough to fight with McLaren. Up until here, everything is fine, until he adds that “it’s not about extracting the performance, it’s simply that there isn’t enough right now.” Until proven otherwise, this is the exact opposite of what Frederic Vasseur is claiming. End of story…