Miami served up yet another bitter pill for Ferrari fans, who once again had to stomach a lacklustre performance dressed up with post-race comments from Frederic Vasseur that hardly reflected reality. “The chef,” as the Ferrari faithful have dubbed him, seems determined to keep serving poorly prepared dishes while continuing to present them as gourmet cuisine. But taste—unlike words—is honest, and the objective truth from the track doesn’t lie.
Driver management at Ferrari: the usual mess, good enough for Fred Vasseur
The Team Principal claimed the team’s handling of its drivers was “good.” Yet Lewis Hamilton remained stuck behind Charles Leclerc for several laps after the pit stop, losing around 1.5 seconds to Andrea Kimi Antonelli during a crucial phase of the race when his medium tyres were at their best. The swap should have happened immediately—or better yet, been part of the race strategy from the start. The delayed call hurt both drivers’ pace and directly affected their competitiveness in the final stages.
Even Lewis Hamilton himself, both over team radio and later with a cooler head, pointed out the flawed execution. Charles Leclerc, for his part, avoided speaking much over the radio to prevent his frustration from being broadcast live. So much for “everything was perfect”—this was more like groping in the dark while the stopwatch told a very different story.
The car? SF-25, a broken promise
According to Fred Vasseur, Ferrari’s race pace was in line with Mercedes and Red Bull. But reality paints another picture: more than 57 seconds behind the winner and over 20 seconds adrift of the top Mercedes and Red Bull. For about ten laps, the SF-25 looked respectable. But the rest of the race quickly dispelled that illusion. You can’t judge a 57-lap race based on one short stint—especially not in the closing laps, when others are managing tyres and fuel.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc continues to state that he’s extracting everything he can from the car, and that without real updates, there’s no way forward. “We’re getting the most out of it,” he keeps repeating—a sentiment in stark contrast with the words of Ferrari’s team principal, who insists on downplaying the issue and talking about some mythical “untapped potential.”
When marketing drives the narrative
At this point, what we’re witnessing looks less like a failed technical plan and more like a carefully crafted communications strategy, where image matters more than results. No one dares admit that the project has failed—sponsors must be reassured, and the next round of merchandise must still be sold to loyal fans who always support the red cars.
But true Ferrari fans, who stick with the team even in hard times, deserve honesty—not statements that have no link to the data. The myth that Ferrari is close to being the second-best team must end. Continuing to sell hopes that are repeatedly shattered by facts not only fails to deliver results—it drives away supporters who were misled by bold predictions and triumphant declarations made at the start of the season, when the results were still zero.
