In F1, the critical date of the Spanish GP in Barcelona was highly anticipated. Not because it would decide the championship or because the circuit is especially telling, but because that weekend will marked the introduction of the FIA directive against excessive front wing and DRS flexibility on the cars. The race at the Spanish circuit was also be the ninth round of the season. That means we’re getting closer to the halfway point of the championship. As a result, the paddock and driver market are starting to heat up.
There are many reports—or rather, rumors—circulating. One should not believe in coincidences. But when there are several, it begins to look like evidence. A few days ago, it was reported that Ferrari had contacted Christian Horner to offer him Fred Vasseur’s position at Ferrari. We published an in-depth piece on this topic yesterday.
This news was preceded by rumors that internal relations at the Scuderia between Fred Vasseur and Benedetto Vigna are not at their best. We at Pit Talk discussed all this with the great Leo Turrini, who told our microphones:
“Benedetto Vigna is the CEO of the company. Ferrari is delivering exceptional industrial, economic, and financial results. That is the CEO’s domain. But I am sure that, precisely because of his role, Vigna is not happy with the results of Ferrari’s F1 team.”
It’s hard to blame CEO Benedetto Vigna. Over the past three years, Ferrari has recorded extraordinary sales results. Sponsorships are steadily increasing, and investors are competing to buy Ferrari shares. Investors are drawn not only by the company’s financial performance but also by its sporting results—especially when the company was born to race, like Ferrari.
Profits are up, but performance on track has dropped dramatically. That hurts fans and shareholders alike. And as Leo Turrini pointed out, it stings even more when compared to Ferrari’s impressive form in the WEC:
“Even if they are different worlds, when you compare them with the results achieved by the 499P Hypercar in the WEC, you start to ask yourself a few questions. Even if, as I’ve said, they are completely different realities, distinct and distant.”
In F1, 18 years have passed—along with a dozen different team principals and drivers, not to mention engineers—without any truly positive results. This is now Fred Vasseur’s third season in red.
All the “excuses,” although it might not be entirely fair to call them that, have run out. He has the drivers he wanted, the engineers he wanted. He has the team he wanted. But the car doesn’t perform. So where’s the problem? Was it a design flaw, a misunderstanding of the car, driving style, strategy… where? These are questions Fred must quickly find answers to. Especially because, as Leo Turrini emphasized to Pit Talk:
“It’s clear that an assessment will have to be made at the end of the season on the performance of this management. But that’s always the case—it’s nothing new for Fred Vasseur.” – he pointed out.
One of the key voices in that evaluation will be CEO Benedetto Vigna himself, who may well point out the heavy investments made by the team principal in return for results that so far have been disappointing. Think back to May 2022: Mattia Binotto was still leading Ferrari, also trying to “understand” the team’s problems, but at least back then Ferrari was fighting for the championship.
That fight ended shortly after the summer break, but the first half of the 2022 season wasn’t that bad. Is it time to regret losing Binotto? Probably not. But the moment of reckoning is approaching—and numbers almost never lie.
