Ferrari, Vasseur’s season review
Ferrari closes the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship with zero victories and seven podium finishes, all scored by Charles Leclerc. It is a modest return, especially compared with the expectations created by team principal Frederic Vasseur during his warm interaction with the fans in Milan before the season began. The Scuderia was never truly on the level of McLaren and failed to show the same ability to respond that it had displayed in 2024, or that Red Bull demonstrated throughout the championship that ended today. Vasseur now attempts to assess the year and refocus the horizon toward 2026.
Vasseur’s words
“The season was overall difficult; from the very first day in Bahrain the pace wasn’t magical. Even the start of the year was very tough for us, with the disqualification in China, and after three or four races McLaren was probably already 100 points ahead. But we are competitors, we want to achieve good results and win races. On a couple of occasions during the season we had a very good comeback, but we struggled all year with the details. In the end today in F1 you go from P6 to P16 for a tenth of a second, and we saw that even in Q1 in Abu Dhabi. I think only McLaren and Max at the end of the season had that small margin that allowed them to manage little issues. This is the reality of F1. I think it’s good for the sport today, even if sometimes it’s not good for the teams,” Vasseur said.
“We keep moving forward. I would be devastated if the drivers told me we are doing a good job. The summary of a season for a driver is always about finding where we can improve. I’m not here to say that we are doing a good job. It’s in their DNA, and in my DNA, to fight with the team to do a better job. They have to come to us and push the team to the limit everywhere. Their reactions on TV? I don’t pay attention to that, they speak five minutes after the session and sometimes emotions come out. The most important thing for me is having a driver who pushes the team to do a better job, to work together and try to achieve better results.
“I think Max and Lando are pushing their teams to the limit; as an F1 team this is what we expect, it’s part of their job. If Charles and Lewis were very happy with the car and everything else, that would be a problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re in first place or in tenth, I think today’s debrief at Alpine, at Williams, at Red Bull or with us is the same. We are all trying to do a better job in every pillar of performance: engine, gearbox, aerodynamics, setup, simulator; this is the DNA of what we are doing. All of us have to push.”
Frederic Vasseur then added: “I believe the philosophy of next year’s car will be completely different. Maybe the aerodynamic map of the car won’t be the same. And the problem we had throughout the season will not come back next year. But we will certainly have other problems.” – the French manager pointed out.
“We are focused on our project, we are developing it, pushing ourselves to the limit and trying to do our best. For sure, the more time you dedicate to a project, the better the results will be. But I don’t know if McLaren, Red Bull or Alpine are ahead of us. Nobody knows. I think the most important thing is not wasting time trying to understand whether others are ahead or behind. We will only find out in Barcelona, or more likely in Australia. And another point to consider is that next year the hierarchy will not be defined from Melbourne onwards. Development and the ability to grow quickly will be very important. After Melbourne the season will certainly not be over, no matter where we are. It will be a long road for everyone.”
With the entire grid effectively starting from zero in 2026, Fred Vasseur’s honest reflection and refusal to make excuses has set the tone for winter at Maranello: no more looking back, only full commitment to the biggest opportunity Ferrari have had in years.
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