Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur took over the reins at the Italian side at the end of the previous Formula One championship, stepping in after ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto left the Italian side following a disappointing 2022 F1 season. departure. As the new Team Principal, his role extended beyond mere management – he had to address the gaps left by key personnel and engineers who had moved on to other teams.
Among the notable departures are race director Laurent Mekies, who opted to join AlphaTauri, and senior design engineer David Sanchez, who set his sights on McLaren. These losses dealt a significant blow to the Ferrari camp and Fred Vasseur now has to identify some key figures to replace them in view of the next seasons, as the Italian side hopes to return to the top.
On top of that, the Maranello team faced the challenge of integrating engineers from other teams, with contractual restrictions delaying some of them from joining until the 2025 season due to what is known as “gardening leave” provisions.
When asked about the progress in assembling an ideal team, Frederic Vasseur emphasized that it’s an ongoing process with no definitive end in sight. He acknowledged that building a cohesive and talented team remains a perpetual task. In an interview for Autosport, Fred Vasseur confirmed that he remained dedicated to strengthening Ferrari’s workforce for sustained success in the future.
“We are miles away because when you are doing my job you don’t have to imagine that there is a perfect structure.” – the French manager explained in a recent interview – “You always need to improve, and always need to change things. If you stay with the same structure two years in a row then you are dead. Because all the others will improve. It means that I don’t have a clear picture to say I have to do this, and full stop, and it will work. It would be stupid. We will make some changes in the coming weeks, in the coming months, in the coming years, because some topics are a bit longer than some others. But it’s a permanent evolution and permanent improvement.” – the Ferrari team principal continued.
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The Maranello team is now focusing on challenging Red Bull next season
As a result of the unfortunate and unexpected first half of the 2023 Formula One campaign, in total opposition with the start of the previous championship, Scuderia Ferrari is clearly focused on taking a major step forward in 2024. The Italian side have not been able to secure a single race win this year, having to settle for just three podium finishes so far and there unfortunately it is difficult to expect something different in the second part of 2023.
Fred Vasseur was asked about the current situation and how the team intends to get back on track next season. He explained:
“Yeah, we are starting to have a much better idea of the situation. And where we are weak, and where we are in better shape. But this I will keep it for me. Sorry! But for sure, race after race we are starting to have a much better picture of the situation.” – the French manager added.
The Maranello team showed some interesting signs of progress in the last race ahead of the summer break, with Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc securing a podium finish. However, the Ferrari boss pointed out that his side remains calm and is knows there is a lot of work to do:
“I would stay very calm, because we had the same [press] meeting one week ago, and we were at the end of the world, McLaren was flying, and we were stupid, and so on. From one week to the other McLaren is at the back today [Sunday], and we are at the front. It means that we have to stay calm, to take it easy, race after race. We know that the pack is so tight. So that for one or two things you can move from P2 to P11. And it’s not the end of the season, we have a lot of to do. But for sure, it’s good to finish the first part of the season on the positive tone. At least we will have the two weeks off with a positive race in mind.” – Fred Vasseur concluded.
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