Ferrari is struggling with Frederic Vasseur’s management, something that often happens in Formula 1. Seven days have passed since the Chinese Grand Prix, which will go down in history for the dual irregularity detected by the FIA on the Maranello team’s cars. Even with time to reflect, the disappointment is great, despite a mediocre performance over the 300 kilometers distance. The historic Maranello-based team had not hidden its ambitions at the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
It expressed its intention to aim for both world titles. This remains a feasible goal, considering that only two of the twenty-four rounds on the calendar have been completed. In short, there is plenty of time to recover, as long as the issues with the SF-25 are swiftly addressed. Without the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s cars, the outcome of the Shanghai weekend could still be considered positive.
Of course, this is in comparison to the disastrous Australian debut. However, the weekend in the Far East ended for the Maranello team on Saturday. After just two races, both the drivers’ and constructors’ standings are significantly lacking. Just think, for the first time in the history of the Italian team, a driver from a customer team is ahead of the two main drivers.
We are talking about Esteban Ocon, who, thanks to the disqualifications of the Italian side’s representatives, is the driver with the most points in the Formula 1 standings among those using a Ferrari-powered car. Just three weeks ago, this scenario would have been laughable. There’s no point in beating around the bush: the atmosphere at Ferrari has become very tense. The natural evolution of the SF-24 was never considered by the engineers in red.
The third year of Frederic Vasseur’s management was supposed to be, at least in intention, the year of technical and organizational maturity for Ferrari. The manager from France has shaped the Ferrari Racing Department to suit his managerial vision. The departure of Italian aerodynamicist and former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile was perhaps the only unexpected event in the team’s internal reorganization process, which did not seem to destabilize the technical department.
Setting aside the disastrous 2023 Formula 1 season, in which the French boss took over from the resigned Mattia Binotto, last season the Italian team had a good campaign and a satisfactory performance. The Maranello team “risked” winning the constructors’ title, battling McLaren until the final round of the season, at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Too bad it is now other records that are being pursued.
If we take a step back twelve months, the Maranello team didn’t need to win at all costs. The goal was to perform better than the previous season. And this is the big current difference between being able to win and having to win at all costs. On the eve of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, as mentioned, Ferrari has publicly set its goals and must try to maintain them.
The obligation to win is certainly a motivation, but it can also be a burden, especially for a team that has been accustomed to defeat. In 2024, without the pressure to win at any cost, the team led by the Frenchman showed the ability to take risks without the fear of making mistakes. The problem is that, at Maranello, dysfunctional dynamics may return to fashion.
Situations that in the past led engineers to suppress their talent, fearing mistakes and choosing not to take risks. If the Red team intends to climb back up, it is necessary to take risks, just as it did last year. Of course, in the 2024 Formula 1 season, there were moments of difficulty, especially after the aerodynamic update package introduced by the Ferrari technicians and engineers at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, which had a lot of negative consequences for the performance of the SF-24, but without losing composure, the team was able to react.
It did so by managing to correct and develop the SF-24 very well until the end of the season, increasing its potential to fight at the top of the category. The bar is now much higher: they must win, no ifs or buts. This sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the red team members must not destabilize the environment in any way. Otherwise, everyone would be called into question, starting with Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur.
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