The organization of work in the factory is the real key to success in Formula 1, from which the technical differences and the gaps on the track derive. The new Ferrari Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur, embodies a different vision of teamwork than the one expressed just a few days ago by Alpine Technical Director Matt Harman. The number one of the Maranello team in fact firmly believes in the competitiveness of a team that focuses on the extreme specialization of its engineers in the individual areas of expertise, seeking perfection in every aspect. Conversely, Matt Harman is convinced that developing interdisciplinary figures, encouraging employees to range from one area to another, can help engineers develop an overall vision of the car.
Frederic Vasseur expressed his vision during an interview with the Racecar Engineering editorial team: “Formula 1 is evolving in a way that is better suited to specialists [engineers] than to individuals with an overview of a particular area. However, along with this there is also the need to effectively coordinate those specialists who previously would have been able to do much more than now. This dramatically changes the structure of the teams and the results in terms of speed of development”.
The statements of the French manager are contrasted with those of Alpine’s technical director, who believes that under a budget cap regime, multidisciplinary figures help to avoid being limited in human resources for individual development areas. “We are limited as a staff now and what we’ve decided is that we want people to be more multidisciplinary.” – Matt Harman explained.
During the same interview, Frederic Vasseur also talked about the issue of hiring young graduates, trained with a different engineering culture than that of more experienced colleagues: “Another influence is that the teams have a new generation that is entering Formula 1 and these talents have entirely new points of view. They approach technology and physics differently than the previous generation. It is therefore essential to have a great deal of experience to manage and coordinate as effectively as possible without letting too many points of view interfere with each other.” – the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal concluded.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
