Fred Vasseur dismisses Ferrari hype, blames media for winter buzz. Ferrari: Fred Vasseur distanced himself from the excessive expectations.

Fred Vasseur Emphasizes the Winter Silence
“During the winter, we’re all world champions and best friends—then the first Qualifying of the year arrives.” That’s how Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur commented during Friday’s FIA press conference in Australia, referring to the usual dynamics of the winter break. The French manager added that the Maranello team had gone through “two months of marketing” due to the inevitable media attention surrounding Hamilton’s debut in the red car.

During the digital presentation of the SF-25, the Scuderia’s top man made it clear that Ferrari’s ambition for 2025 is to fight for both world titles—and rightly so, given that in 2024, Ferrari narrowly lost the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren. After finishing second by just 14 points, the only possible target is the title. And if the team is aiming for the Constructors’ Championship, the car must be up to the task—at which point, two stars like Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton can naturally aim for the Drivers’ Championship as well.

So far, the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season has been disappointing for Ferrari, though Lewis Hamilton’s dominant Sprint victory in China should not be overlooked. In an interview with the French sports newspaper L’Équipe, Frédéric Vasseur pushed back against claims that Ferrari created hype over the winter. “We try to isolate ourselves from everything happening around us,” Fred Vasseur said. “Some people told us, ‘You made a lot of noise this winter,’ but that’s not true—it was the media making the noise. We only released a photo without giving any interviews. We didn’t even officially present the car in Maranello. The excitement surrounding Ferrari is a fact, but it’s not something we seek out—we just have to live with it. I focus on the positive side, which is the energy that all these fans bring.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded.