Frédéric Vasseur’s future at Ferrari has become one of the main talking points following the disappointing Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with speculation over possible replacements adding further pressure around the team principal. A comparison with Ferrari’s most recent team bosses in terms of races, victories and podiums does little to simplify the debate, instead highlighting a tenure that has contained both progress and significant disappointment.
Ferrari has nevertheless continued to back its team principal, with the latest uncertainty surrounding Frédéric Vasseur’s future at Maranello arriving as the team prepares for another crucial phase of its Formula 1 project.
Frédéric Vasseur’s Ferrari record: 84 races, eight wins and 47 podiums
The headline numbers alone illustrate what Ferrari has not managed to achieve during Frédéric Vasseur’s tenure: 84 Grands Prix, eight victories and 47 podium finishes. For a team whose realistic long-term objective can only be to fight for the Formula 1 world championship, that return remains limited.
The individual seasons, however, require greater context. The 2023 campaign was effectively transitional, with Frédéric Vasseur inheriting a team that had begun the previous period with major ambitions before falling short of expectations.
In 2024, Ferrari fought McLaren for the Constructors’ Championship until the final race but ultimately lost the title. There was nevertheless genuine optimism, with the SF-24 regularly capable of fighting for podium positions and Ferrari appearing to have established a foundation from which to move forward.
That momentum disappeared in 2025. Ferrari’s main rivals pulled away, the team suffered a double disqualification in China and failed to win a Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint victory in China the only exception in terms of race success. Ferrari ultimately finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, its worst result since 2020.
The current season initially created fresh hope, but that optimism faded as Mercedes established its superiority. Ferrari’s difficulties have consequently brought renewed scrutiny of the leadership structure, despite the team having reaffirmed its support for Frédéric Vasseur amid comparisons with previous Ferrari team principals.
Mattia Binotto’s Ferrari numbers are remarkably similar
Looking at the men who immediately preceded Frédéric Vasseur produces a more nuanced picture. Mattia Binotto’s statistical record is almost identical: 82 races, seven victories and 47 podium finishes.
There were important mitigating circumstances during Mattia Binotto’s tenure. Ferrari contested the 2020 season with a significantly weakened power unit, while 2021 was largely a campaign of recovery and consolidation.
The major disappointment came in 2022. Ferrari began the season strongly, with Charles Leclerc emerging as a genuine championship challenger to Max Verstappen. But the second half of the campaign became increasingly difficult, with unsuccessful development choices, questionable strategies and costly errors on track contributing to the collapse of the title challenge.
Maurizio Arrivabene leads the comparison on victories and podiums
From a purely statistical perspective, Maurizio Arrivabene produced the strongest record of the three. Across 81 Grands Prix, Ferrari recorded 14 victories and 71 podiums during his tenure, giving him the best figures both in absolute terms and proportionally.
Yet one statistic overshadows all the others: zero Drivers’ Championships and zero Constructors’ Championships.
Sebastian Vettel came closer to winning the Drivers’ Championship for Ferrari than any other driver in the past decade, and the period included several notable high points. The victory in Malaysia in 2015 marked Ferrari’s return to the top step, while the team produced several dominant performances during the 2017 and 2018 campaigns.
There were also less convincing periods, including a difficult 2016 season and race management that was not always flawless. Stronger raw statistics therefore did not ultimately deliver the championships Ferrari was pursuing.
Would replacing Frédéric Vasseur actually solve Ferrari’s problem?
The renewed discussion over potential replacements inevitably raises a broader question. Searching for another team principal whenever Ferrari enters a period of difficulty is hardly a new phenomenon, but repeatedly changing the person at the top has not yet delivered the lasting transformation the team needs.
There is little doubt that Frédéric Vasseur’s management has so far fallen short of Ferrari’s ultimate objectives. If the expected results had already arrived, there would be little discussion about his position. But focusing exclusively on the team principal risks overlooking the wider structure in which each Ferrari leader has operated.
The recurring temptation is to search for a powerful figure capable of immediately resolving every weakness within the organisation. Recent speculation surrounding Christian Horner and the possibility of a future Ferrari role has once again placed that question at the centre of the debate.
Ferrari’s history over the past decade suggests that changing one individual does not automatically change the outcome. Maurizio Arrivabene produced significantly stronger victory and podium statistics without winning a championship. Mattia Binotto delivered numbers remarkably close to those of Frédéric Vasseur but saw a promising title challenge unravel. Frédéric Vasseur has taken Ferrari within reach of a Constructors’ Championship but has subsequently overseen two far more difficult seasons.
The wider leadership structure therefore deserves consideration alongside the identity of the team principal. Questions surrounding Ferrari’s senior leadership and the organisation above the Formula 1 team form part of that broader discussion.
The old proverb about the fool looking at the finger while the wise person looks at the moon is particularly appropriate. Ferrari can continue debating the identity of the next team principal, but the more important question may be whether replacing another individual at the top would address the deeper reasons why different leadership eras have repeatedly ended without a Formula 1 world championship.
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