Fred Vasseur: “We have improved a lot, but to win the F1 title, we need to reduce mistakes”. Frederic Vasseur makes no predictions for 2025 but believes Ferrari can fight for the F1 title.

Fred Vasseur ahead of 2025
With Tuesday night’s event and the first laps of the SF-25 at Fiorano, Ferrari officially presented itself to its fans, reigniting enthusiasm not seen since the days of Michael Schumacher. That name is no coincidence, as this year, Lewis Hamilton dons Ferrari red—the only driver alongside the Kaiser to have won seven world titles, with the chance to make history at Ferrari by becoming the first to reach eight championships.

The combination of Hamilton’s arrival and a 2024 season that saw Ferrari fight for the title until the final race created an electrifying atmosphere at Fiorano. The passion of the fans overwhelmed even Hamilton—who is used to a far different setting during shakedowns—as well as Charles Leclerc. However, team principal Frederic Vasseur remains cautious, urging calm and tempering expectations.

Fred Vasseur’s words
“This has happened before, where everyone is full of expectations, enthusiasm, and passion. I think it’s one of the characteristics of this team and this country, and I take it as a positive. We had thousands of people watching us, and honestly, that drives the team forward. But now, with the experience of the past two years, I know we need to keep expectations in check. Just because we have thousands of fans at the shakedown doesn’t mean we’ll be world champions. If you want to win races, you need a good car and to improve at every single race,” said the Frenchman. “I think last year we handled it quite well. We were also able to react in difficult moments, like in June and July. We quickly changed our approach and responded as a team. If we want to be champions—and that is clearly the goal—we need to improve everywhere and minimize missed opportunities.”

Regarding the title favorites, Fred Vasseur refrained from making predictions: “It’s very difficult to say who will lead the pack this season. We fought until the last corner of the season with McLaren, and we need to build our 2025 campaign based on that. I do think there will be continuity from last year. We must push to keep developing the car and improving every single aspect of performance in every department. The competition is getting tighter, and we’re increasingly talking about fine details. When we introduce an upgrade now, we’re talking about small gains in downforce. It’s no secret that we made a step forward in the wind tunnel last year and that we are continuously improving every single tool and department. It’s not just about operations; it’s also about the tools and infrastructure, but this is an approach of continuous improvement.” – the French manager concluded.