Fred Vasseur says he prefers honest Ferrari drivers over diplomatic post-race comments. Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur says he prefers drivers who express frustration after tough races.

Vasseur: “I prefer having drivers who are open after the race, not saying the team is perfect”

The Ferrari Team Principal analysed the team’s weekend in Las Vegas, saying he appreciates the honesty shown by the drivers after the race.

Ferrari leaves Las Vegas with a fourth and an eighth place, helped by the double disqualification for McLaren. The result moves the team closer to securing fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship. Despite this, Frederic Vasseur does not believe Ferrari’s season has been a disaster, and he also insists that the team’s problems are not solely due to the performance limitations of the SF-25. At the same time, the drivers have not held back from expressing frustration with the current situation — something that the Team Principal welcomes more than polite, scripted post-race comments.

Assessing the weekend

“In the last two or three weekends we haven’t managed to put everything together, and that is why, from a mathematical point of view, we have dropped down in the standings,” Fred Vasseur explained. “In terms of pure performance, though, I think we are not in such bad shape compared to the middle part of the season. I can understand Lewis’s reaction immediately after the race, but we need to calm down and focus on the next two weekends, because we will come back.”

Fred Vasseur was referring to Lewis Hamilton’s comments, in which he described 2025 as the worst season of his entire career. “Today it is difficult, but if you look at the last couple of races… In Mexico, for example, it was because of a penalty that Lewis didn’t finish on the podium. I don’t think we need to turn everything upside down. It’s about putting all the pieces together, and I think we are struggling to deliver a clean weekend — whether it’s a penalty or yesterday’s contact with Franco Colapinto. It’s not only a matter of pure performance. Of course, we need to improve that too, but it depends more on how you progress throughout the weekend.”

No drama

One of the key topics was raised by Charles Leclerc after qualifying, when he pointed out that since he arrived in Maranello, Ferrari has always struggled in wet conditions. “It’s not a matter of grip,” Fred Vasseur explained. “If you look at FP3, you can see that on full wet tyres we were first. It’s not that the car doesn’t work with intermediates or full wets — we simply struggle more in certain grip conditions.”

The absence of victories and the fight for fourth place in the Constructors’ standings have influenced the perception of the SF-25, but the French manager prefers to tone things down. “Until two weeks ago we were still fighting in the championship for second place. It hasn’t been a total disaster — for me that’s not the right word. The difficult part is that we scored six or seven points in two race weekends, but before that we were ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull in the standings. That means the situation is not as dramatic as it seems. I completely understand the drivers. They want more, and believe me, in the Monday morning factory meetings, even I am quite tough. However, wanting more is part of our DNA.” – he pointed out.

The drivers’ attitude

The drivers’ comments in interviews are often very direct, a dynamic Fred Vasseur understands and defends. “You all know the system very well. Going into the media pen five minutes after a difficult race is very hard for them. I can fully understand the adrenaline and emotions. Being obliged to comment in those circumstances is tough. I wouldn’t say it’s normal, but I prefer having drivers who are open and who say they are frustrated when the job wasn’t done perfectly or when the car wasn’t good, rather than going into the TV interviews saying the team is perfect and the car is fine. In that case, you would end up disappointed.”

“You can’t blame them for every reaction. I think it is normal for a human being to be emotional on the radio or immediately at the end of a session. What matters most is not what they say in the media pen, but what they do on Monday morning with the team, trying to improve and pushing everyone to do better. That is the drivers’ real job — not giving interviews.” – the Ferrari team boss concluded.