Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur admits: “Here’s what we underestimated at the start of the year”. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur reflects on the mistakes.

Frederic Vasseur explains Ferrari’s challenges in early 2025

When Frederic Vasseur joined Ferrari, he was welcomed as a beacon of hope. Every negotiation, every name linked to the team, was seen as a potential game-changer. Last year, when he guided Ferrari to fight for the World Championship until the very last race, expectations skyrocketed even further. However, at the start of 2025, the team’s ambitions were undermined by a less competitive car, plunging not only fans but also drivers and engineers into a negative spiral.

Assessing the challenges of 2025

Despite the slow start, the French team principal is attempting to “salvage what can be saved” this season, highlighting the factor that has proved most challenging under his management. Speaking to the Beyond The Grid podcast, he explained: “It’s a very intense year. From a sporting perspective, you always want more. Overall, I would say the trajectory has been positive; there was clear improvement over the last two years. This year is different—we are piecing together the full picture step by step. We underestimated the inertia at the beginning, the fact that now, to do something different or to take another path, it takes time. The entire Formula 1 system has always been like this. You are constantly trying to improve; even McLaren is doing it. The moment you think you have everything under control, it’s the beginning of the end.”

From hero to target

In recent months, Fred Vasseur has gone from being seen as a hero to becoming a target, with the media openly questioning his position. Nevertheless, Ferrari’s board opted for the most sensible long-term strategy, choosing to extend his tenure rather than succumb to what the team principal himself has described as the flaw of modern Formula 1: “On the other hand, in recent years contracts have changed, and if you want to work with someone or reorganize the team, you have to factor in at least two years. Take the example of Loic Serra: he arrived eight months ago, but negotiations started two years ago, and the first car he will fully work on will be the 2026 model. This is a three-year project, and I’m not sure that current Formula 1, like the world at large, has the patience to wait.” – the French manager concluded ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.