Talking about the Formula 1 world championship fight remains strictly off limits at Ferrari. Team principal Fred Vasseur repeated that message several times on Sunday following Charles Leclerc’s victory at Silverstone, Ferrari’s second win in the last three Grands Prix.
When yet another journalist asked about the Italian team’s title ambitions, the Frenchman laughed, pointed to his ear and replied: “Are you deaf? I said we don’t use that word.” Even the choice of vocabulary has become important at Maranello since Ferrari finally started moving in the right direction this season, leaving behind the frustrations of a winless 2025 campaign.
“We know exactly what we have to do to keep improving, and the gap to Mercedes won’t disappear overnight by magic,” Fred Vasseur explained. “When we return to the factory, we’ll have exactly the same approach. We’ll tell everyone that we simply have to focus on the next race weekend.”
Ferrari’s greatest strength
The message repeated throughout the team is always the same: take things one race at a time. There should be no excessive disappointment when results fall short, and no over-the-top celebrations when Ferrari exceeds expectations, as it did with its victory at Silverstone on a weekend that, on paper, looked particularly difficult for the Scuderia.
This shift in mentality has been fundamental to Ferrari’s fresh start this year. Fred Vasseur has led that cultural change from within, supported by the trusted figures who have helped him quietly reshape the team since last season, even while the championship was filled with setbacks and disappointment.
From deputy team principal Jerome d’Ambrosio to head of track engineering Matteo Togninalli, the French manager identified the key positions that required attention while also giving the race crews supporting both drivers the freedom to work independently. That has resulted in significant differences in approach and technical direction between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton
One principle is now clearer than ever inside Ferrari: the two drivers do not need to follow identical technical paths for the team to succeed.
“I tried to go in Lewis’ direction,” Charles Leclerc explained on Saturday, “but it didn’t work, and when I went back to my own direction, things immediately started getting better.”
According to the Monegasque driver, finding that balance took time. He also made a point of personally thanking the people who supported him throughout the process, beginning with Bryan Bozzi, his race engineer since 2024. Bozzi joined Charles Leclerc on the Silverstone podium after the race and, over the team radio, praised the driver’s relentless commitment and dedication.
Leclerc also thanked two other key members of his inner circle: Andrea Ferrari, who has worked as his performance coach throughout his career, and performance engineer Johannes Hatz. Their names join those of dozens of other engineers and technicians who have played a crucial role in building a strong, united Ferrari team that Leclerc now trusts completely.
A similar story applies to Lewis Hamilton. After the frustrations and tension of the 2025 season, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion appears to have found a strong working relationship with his new race engineer, Carlo Santi. Hamilton even described him as “the Italian Bono,” referring to his long-time Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington, with whom he shared an exceptionally close partnership over 12 years.
“It’s also about trust, both between individuals and across the whole group,” Fred Vasseur explained. “Every single part of the team has to feel comfortable and know that it can contribute to our success.”
Whether Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton follow different technical directions or arrive at similar solutions is ultimately secondary. What has truly changed at Ferrari is the working method, and that transformation is becoming one of the team’s biggest strengths.
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