John Elkann is confident "Ferrari is 100% moving in the right direction"

The New Chapter with Fred Vasseur
Just like in the previous Formula 1 season, Scuderia Ferrari could finish in 2nd place in the Constructors’ standings at the upcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but to do so, it will need to recover the 4 points that separate it from Mercedes to achieve the meager consolation of the vice-champion title. The gap from Red Bull is too significant, both for the ‘Prancing Horse’ and for all other teams, and the hunger to return to competing for the championship is still immense after the disappointments of recent seasons. Following the disastrous results of 2020 and the subsequent attempt to change course with Mattia Binotto as Team Principal, the ‘Red’ began 2023 with a new name at the helm: Frédéric Vasseur, a choice made at the behest of President John Elkann.

The Hoped-for Signals
Ferrari, aside from being the only team to interrupt Red Bull’s dominance at the Singapore GP with Carlos Sainz, has above all implemented a process of change that Elkann had desired with the arrival of the French engineer, acknowledged primarily by the President himself in an exclusive interview with the BBC: “Ferrari is moving 100% in the right direction, and I have definitely seen the positive change I hoped for,” he declared. “The team is much more united and much closer with Vasseur, and there are numerous incredibly talented people who want to come to Ferrari. This is a very strong signal.”

Fred Vasseur’s Characteristics
In recent years, the progress has been considered valid but not sufficient by John Elkann, who identified Fred Vasseur as the right man to effect the change: “The determining factors in the good results achieved by our competitors have been responsibility and agility. They tend to be more agile and faster, and Fred had these characteristics, having worked in motorsport throughout his professional life and having had a lot of success in various categories, including F1, managing a smaller team (Renault and Alfa Romeo, editor’s note). So, on the one hand, he brings with him a culture of responsibility and reliability, but on the other hand, he knows and has operated in smaller, more effective, and more agile organizations, and this is definitely something we lacked compared to our stronger competitors.” – he pointed out.

The Culture of ‘Non-Blame’
What has held Ferrari back in this period towards victory? For John Elkann, there exists, looking back, a significant difference between recent seasons and the years of red dominance with Michael Schumacher, where there was a ‘culture of non-blame’: “We haven’t had this culture since Jean Todt and then Stefano Domenicali were in charge. It left us,” he explained. “Responsibility involves taking responsibility for one’s mistakes, and that wrong culture was deflecting it. It’s not about blaming but being responsible. And that has been a big cultural difference we have had. If we look at 2020, I remember there was a lot of disappointment. At that moment, I understood that we had to take it very seriously and that it was important to look at what was happening, be aware of it, and work on it. We wouldn’t be competitive until 2022, and everyone denied it. Then we managed to work in these years and be competitive in 2022.” – the Ferrari President concluded, ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.