Scuderia Ferrari is experiencing a challenging Formula One season. At the start of the 2023 championship, there was hope that they could challenge Red Bull for the world title, but already in the pre-season tests in Bahrain, it became clear that it wouldn’t be the case. The Scuderia had to readjust its ambitions, seeking in the SF-23 the qualities that are occasionally glimpsed but often fail to emerge due to a series of mistakes involving the team, drivers, and technical and strategic choices.
The objective of the Prancing Horse is to reclaim its position as a solid second force, picking up where they left off at the end of last year. Ferrari is currently fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, behind Mercedes and Aston Martin, as they head to the Hungaroring with over half the season still to be contested. The disappointment of Silverstone is in the past, although the ninth and tenth-place finishes achieved were far from the expectations after positive performances in Canada and Austria.
Motorsport Italy’s Franco Nugnes met Fred Vasseur at the Montana restaurant in Fiorano during a lunch break: amidst one course and another, it was an extraordinary opportunity to take stock of the mid-season and gauge the “pressure” of the French team principal. The feeling is that Fred Vasseur is firmly in command of the Scuderia and is shaping the team he inherited from Mattia Binotto into what he deems necessary for a return to victory. It is no coincidence that he has decided to make Bologna his home to settle his family. It’s a sign that he’s ready to put down roots…
No revolutions, but continuous, planned changes. The Frenchman gives the impression of having broad shoulders and being a smooth operator. The conversation was very candid and open, making it easy to get an idea of Ferrari’s orientation in this scorching summer…
Here is the full interview of Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur for Motorsport Italy:
“We are working to improve our weaknesses because it’s the right approach rather than trying to copy someone else. The hardest part of the job is understanding where our weaknesses lie and then addressing them. From this perspective, we have made good progress after Australia and then even more after Barcelona, although there are still weaknesses, especially under extreme conditions.”
Things didn’t go well on track in Barcelona, but you spoke positively about the updates…
“Sometimes when you introduce a new package and have little time to test it, it’s difficult to understand if you’ve used the wrong setup. Maybe you expected to gain a second and a half, but instead lost a tenth because you didn’t have the correct setup. So once you introduce an upgrade, it’s crucial to understand how to exploit it. There’s also an impact related to the conditions because we’re still somewhat sensitive to the wind, especially when it’s strong, like at Silverstone, where it reached 50 km/h.”
But what went wrong at Silverstone? Because there was a feeling that the SF-23 was better than it showed…
“It was a combination of a couple of things. In qualifying, I think we had the potential to be on the front row; we were a couple of tenths off Verstappen, but we made some mistakes. Then on Sunday, there was an increase in wind, and we already knew that we would be exposed to this issue in the British GP.”
But why is wind such a big problem?
“The car is too sensitive when there’s diagonal wind. We’re working to improve in this area because when the wind is head-on, we don’t have any difficulties. At Silverstone, strong gusts were blowing, and on top of that, on Friday we didn’t have the free practice sessions, so we were a bit in the dark regarding the tires, which made us worried about tire degradation. That’s why we opted for a medium-hard strategy, like McLaren, while everyone else went for medium-soft. Additionally, we made the pit stop too early. With the medium-hard strategy, it would have been normal to pit between the 20th and 30th lap, but we were battling with George Russell, who had soft tires, and we didn’t want to risk being undercut. We made the stop earlier because of that, but it was a mistake. As if that wasn’t enough, there was the Safety Car that further complicated things. So yes, there was a combination of five or six different factors.”
On Saturday at Silverstone, you were the only top team to start qualifying on intermediates when everyone else was on slicks. It seems like you’re always playing defensively…
“We started on intermediates, but then we immediately switched to slicks. We knew the situation would improve, and we didn’t want to waste a set of soft tires, so we asked the drivers to do a few laps on intermediates, but they already knew they would come in to change them soon.”
“It’s easy to criticize the strategists from the outside, but sometimes mistakes are made because the number of laps that can be covered with the available tire compounds is miscalculated. Sometimes we’re told that a certain tire can’t last more than 15 laps, but then they cover more. If that happens, it’s not the strategist’s fault but rather the tire supplier’s. Overall, however, we always try to use too many sets of soft tires too early.”
Is the gap to Red Bull closing?
“The gap is smaller if we consider that in Jeddah, we were one lap behind, while in Austria, we finished 20 seconds behind.”
But even with DRS, we’ve seen that the situation is improving compared to the beginning of the season: the RB19 no longer seems unbeatable. Then there are cars that have taken different paths, like Mercedes and McLaren with a different wing concept from Red Bull, and they are closing in…
“McLaren has started making progress since Barcelona. It may have been less visible because Norris had a contact at turn three. It’s not just a matter of sidepod or wing concept; the performances were already starting to show. It’s true that behind Max, there’s a group of four teams within two tenths, so the setup and the drivers’ performances can make a big difference, but mistakes are also part of the game.”
“To understand where we are exactly, we need to be much more precise than 3-4 years ago. Back then, the hierarchies were quite clear: there were always the same cars in the front and second rows, and the picture was very evident. Now it’s much harder to read things from one race to another.”
Can we say that Ferrari is three months behind its development plan after the disappointing start?
“I don’t know about three months, but we certainly paid a gap. It wasn’t just a matter of pure performance because something happened that affected the drivers’ confidence in the car. When you enter a corner and experience a loss of aerodynamic load, it also leads to a loss of balance, and therefore, understeer starts to be felt. Add to that the wind, which is never the same from one lap to another, never has the same intensity, and the difficulties accumulate.”
“We don’t have performance stability: lap after lap, we lose some performance from our drivers because they never have the same conditions and they lose confidence in the car. We need to prioritize putting the drivers more at the center. It won’t be the easiest way or the fastest. It would be much easier to add aerodynamic load everywhere. And so it happens that from one weekend to the next, we have very different performances. We have good feelings in one GP while in the next, it may happen that we perform poorly.”
Ferrari has two drivers with different driving philosophies. Sainz prefers understeer, while Leclerc prefers oversteer. Is this a determining factor in the direction to take in car development? Because if one is satisfied, the other may not be…
“Charles and Carlos don’t drive with the same setup, but the differences are marginal.”
From the outside, however, it seems that Charles is the faster driver of the two, while Carlos is better at providing feedback in car development…
“Leclerc is capable of exceptional things. Sometimes he does things that you don’t know where he gets them from. Charles is a driver who always thinks about winning. Our car is behind Red Bull, but he’s still there thinking about trying to win. In certain situations, we’ve seen him push too much, go into overdriving, trying to compensate for the shortcomings with strategy, aggressiveness, and the risk of making mistakes.”
“My job is to guide him in the right direction. When we have a car that can secure second place, we need to take that spot. Of course, it’s also right to look at what’s happening in front.”
“Carlos is very consistent. He can manage his pace, and he does it a little better than Charles. He doesn’t go into overdriving. He doesn’t have the big peaks that Charles has, like when he achieves pole positions. But sometimes he’s very close. In Miami, until the last corner, he was on pole. He limits major mistakes, and he’s always there.”
The rumors surrounding a possible arrival of Alexander Albon at Ferrari, are they causing “nervousness” for Sainz?
“I don’t know where this story came from. I had Albon in the past, we’re friends. But… if a journalist asks me if Alexander is currently doing a good job, I’ll answer yes. But that doesn’t mean I’m interested in getting him. I believe Alex has a contract with Williams until 2024. The team is investing a lot. So there’s no problem…”
The question was also about the nervousness of Sainz. And Leclerc’s as well…
“Mistakes were made in Barcelona in qualifying, and in Spielberg in qualifying. But there are no reasons. Ultimately, it can happen to make mistakes or have two consecutive races below top form. I’m sure they were just frustrated with their weekend performances. We have to keep in mind that they are constantly pushing the limits, so we have to accept that they can make mistakes. They’re always under pressure. I’ve spoken with them, and everything is fine.”
So, it’s not necessary to talk about contract renewals…
“I was clear with the team at the beginning of the season, and I was also clear with the drivers. I need to get to know the team; it takes months. They still have a one-year contract. It’s not a matter that needs to be discussed now. We will surely talk about it in the future, but it’s not the top concern. The priority, for everyone, is to focus on the team, especially this season. I don’t want any distractions. There was an article in the press about Sainz going to Sauber. Let’s leave it alone…”
How many people will need to come to Maranello to complete the workgroup you have in mind?
“On this front, it’s never completely settled. The moment you think it is, I believe you risk being at the beginning of the end. Maybe you strengthen the aerodynamics department, and then there are needs in the engine department. You can’t get settled before other reinforcements are needed in the wind tunnel because the scenario has changed. It’s a continuous chase.”
“The number of people we consider necessary to strengthen ourselves is between forty and forty-five, but in a company of 1,000 employees, there’s a natural turnover of about 6% per year: we’re talking about retirements, personnel wanting to change sectors, and many other reasons. So, to maintain a stable number of employees, we need to plan about 90 hirings every year. Half of them are experienced individuals, and the other half are first-time employees or those without significant work history.”
Why isn’t Enrico Cardile appointed as Technical Director yet?
“I will do it. Cardile is the technical manager of the car; Gualtieri is the engine manager, and I consider them the directors of their respective areas, and both report directly to me. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked to clarify the organizational chart; some confusion has indeed arisen, but we will bring clarity. With Mekies leaving, there will be an opportunity to put things in order.”
How will the transition of Mekies be managed, and what difficulties, if any, did his departure create?
“Ioverno will take on various roles that were Laurent’s, such as the relations with the FIA. Regarding Mekies, since he submitted his resignation, he hasn’t been involved in technical matters anymore. His presence has been limited to the pit wall during races, and he has always been completely transparent. Even before we decided, he had already excluded himself from all technical meetings and other sensitive tasks.”
What can we expect from the Budapest weekend?
“I can say that we perform better in slow corners and those with a 90-degree angle than on high-speed corners; at least, that’s what we’ve seen so far. We can hope for a pole position… I believe the key factor could be the wind. But Spa could also be a track that suits the characteristics of our car well. There’s the Bus Stop chicane, the Source, and there are only two high-speed corners.”
After the recent tragic events, is Spa considered a track with a high-risk percentage?
“The biggest issues arise when there’s poor visibility. We’ve seen more problems at Raidillon, where reduced visibility combined with the track layout created very difficult situations. We need to find a solution. The first important aspect to consider is preventing cars that go off the track from bouncing back onto the racing surface because that creates a very dangerous dynamic.”
What is your stance on the tire supplier for 2025? For Ferrari, could a switch to Bridgestone be an opportunity, or would you prefer to continue the collaboration with Pirelli?
“We’re talking about two great companies, and I have confidence in both. Let’s start with Pirelli. We have to admit that over the years, we’ve always asked for new things, every season. First, we wanted more degradation, then less. We used tire warmers, and now we don’t want them anymore.”
“We have to be honest; sometimes we’ve complained, but we’ve never had a consistent strategy regarding tires. We asked for and got wider tires, then we switched from 13 to 18 inches. With Pirelli, we know where we stand. It hasn’t always been perfect, but no one is.”
Regarding Bridgestone, we know they did a good job in the past. I had the opportunity to work with them for a couple of seasons, and the relationship was positive. But we have to remember that it’s not a simple challenge, especially considering that, potentially, providing them with a testing program to develop the product won’t be easy. You can’t think of using a Formula 2 car because it has less than half the load of a Formula 1 car.”
“I say this because we’re talking about a company that, in its previous F1 experience, was used to being on track every day for private tests. I believe the Japanese have the know-how to propose a good product, but then there’s a need for extensive track testing to develop it, so this aspect should not be underestimated.”
Are you working on a different hybrid management system than the current one?
“There are always studies on improving the configuration of the power unit. We know, for example, that there’s a need to deliver more power before the activation point of the DRS. There are always parameters that our engineers are focusing on.”
In this season, will five power units be needed to complete the championship?
“With the management we have, four units should be sufficient.”
What is your position on the budget cap?
“I’m in favor, and I believe it’s a step in the right direction. The main problem is that if we’re not able to control it, it becomes a bigger problem than not having a cost cap because whoever spends more clearly has a huge advantage.”
Would you favor a single fuel supplier?
“We would lose the support of our suppliers, who are also sponsors. At the moment, I don’t think there are significant differences on the fuel front. In the future, there could be a system to balance performance based on the fuel used. I believe the trend is towards e-fuel, but it’s a complex scenario. We need to understand what will best suit our engine, but I think the fuel should adapt to the needs of the power unit. Otherwise, it would cost a fortune to change the combustion of the engine based on the fuel, and with a budget cap, it’s impossible.”
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