The Canadian Grand Prix weekend at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal was a highly turbulent one for Ferrari, particularly from a media perspective. The team’s arrival in Canada was preceded by reports concerning Frederic Vasseur’s contract expiring at the end of the 2025 Formula 1 championship, speculation that Charles Leclerc might be exploring alternatives, and Lewis Hamilton’s dissatisfaction. This combination of three topics made the news a ticking time bomb for the team. In response, the French Team Principal reacted strongly in the press conference, even targeting the media, especially the Italian press, quite harshly and directly. Frederic Vasseur went so far as to suggest in Montreal that, with the current media environment, winning the championship would be impossible.
The tone, manner, and timing of the news may be debatable, but we are not here to judge or comment on that, always bearing in mind that the truth often lies in the middle. The core of the matter was lost in analyzing who said what and how they said it. Letting a Team Principal reach the end of his contract in 2025, right on the eve of a major regulatory change, and a particularly delicate one at that, is something a top team should not do. Everything should already be clear, especially given the ongoing work at Maranello. Yet only two people can answer that and they already should have, given the chaos of the past week: John Elkann and Benedetto Vigna. And this opens up an issue that has never worked at Ferrari since Sergio Marchionne’s death: communication.
First, let’s take a look at Frederic Vasseur’s achievements over three years that would justify a multi-year renewal. The arrival of the French manager was a bold and decisive move by John Elkann in mid-2022, as he wanted to start building a team in his own image. This project was completed with the renewal of Charles Leclerc and the signing of Lewis Hamilton for this very season. What’s still missing, however, is the car, despite an excellent second half of last year’s championship. The goal set by the president has always been to “win by 2026,” focusing on the new regulatory cycle and implicitly making Frederic Vasseur’s project a long-term one. For this reason, it was assumed that Frederic Vasseur’s contract would see him leading the Italian side at least through the end of next year.
In Formula 1, timelines are extended due to lengthy gardening leave for high and mid-level engineers and the development process of the cars. Frederic Vasseur’s recruitment campaign brought in prominent names, most notably Loic Serra, who began working last October and is fully involved only with the 2026 car. The SF-25’s issues have required ongoing adjustments, which will hopefully turn things around, but they can’t be used to evaluate the former Mercedes man’s work. Frederic Vasseur’s real team effort will only be measurable with project 678 next year and those that follow.
Other important figures have also arrived in Maranello, including Jerome D’Ambrosio and, of course, Lewis Hamilton. Together with Frederic Vasseur, they are trying to change the Maranello team from the inside, making it more international, less sentimental and Italian, more like how the British rivals operate, while still retaining Ferrari’s tradition and passion. Add to this two seasons of mid-year development improvements, and a 2024 campaign in which the Constructors’ Championship was contested until the final race—lost by just 14 points.
Relations with the media remain a weak point, as clarity must be a strength. The Team Principal’s direct attack on the media, especially the Italian press, took everyone by surprise. As he explained, the French manager acknowledged that he accepted the attention and criticism directed at him, adding that he had been aware of it even before taking the role, but what he doesn’t want is for the team, or even specific individuals, to be caught in the storm.
The French Team Principal recounted that, the previous year, reports had claimed Ferrari had signed Balbo, prompting Diego Tondi to approach him for confirmation, and he had found himself having to explain the entire situation, citing an article published by Corriere della Sera in late April 2023. Leaving aside the specific article, the core issue is undeniable: there is a communication problem between Ferrari and the press, especially the Italian media. Journalists are constantly seeking answers, especially from a team like Ferrari that’s underperforming compared to expectations. Why isn’t the SF-25 as competitive as expected? What countermeasures are planned? What is meant by the car’s “unexpressed potential”? These are just some of the questions to which Ferrari, Fred Vasseur first and foremost, has never truly responded.
That’s when conjecture begins, with explanations more or less grounded in truth, even leading to fabricated stories, all driven by pageviews and the Google algorithm that has ruined journalism. The press would be more aligned if the team provided answers to its issues, without revealing too much technical detail, of course. Mercedes handles this extremely well, both through their technical staff in the much-anticipated post-GP debriefs and through Toto Wolff in interviews. The Austrian manager has even apologized to Lewis Hamilton multiple times for the underperforming cars built in Brackley in recent years.
Looking at Ferrari’s current season we see that in Australia, Friday began strongly, with the team fighting McLaren. On Saturday, the car lost performance, reportedly because it had to be raised, though this was never officially confirmed, costing the SF-25 its competitiveness. The same issue resurfaced in China. In the Shanghai Sprint, the SF-25 was very competitive but vanished again in qualifying and the race, once again requiring detrimental compromises. Yet again, no clear explanation was provided. Fred Vasseur’s only vague remark was that, without the damage to Charles Leclerc’s wing, they would have been closer.
That weekend also ended with a double disqualification due to underweight and excessive skid wear, the very reason the car was raised in Australia. And still, no further comment, aside from an exclusive interview with L’Équipe, which the Italian press didn’t take well. Asked directly about the ride height issue, Frederic Vasseur replied that they were talking about millimeters and insisted it didn’t affect them more than other teams, stating firmly that it was absolutely not the issue, denying that ride height was the real problem. So what is slowing down a car that initially showed such promise? It’s March 23.
As race weekends go by, the French team principal has increasingly fallen back on familiar talking points: execution and extracting potential. Melbourne’s Friday and the China Sprint are the SF-25’s benchmark performances, but they have rarely been repeated, simply because the car’s setup doesn’t allow it. The SF-25’s poor balance stems from forced suboptimal ride height settings due to mechanical issues. Meanwhile, off track, more and more confirmations were coming in about work being done at the factory, yet again with no official acknowledgment. Fred Vasseur stated that he was certain everyone wanted to run the car lower, as it would be better for all, but explained that there was a limit imposed by bottoming and regulations, and that the team spent the entire weekend trying to find that limit—once again avoiding the core issue, as explained by F1 experts Piergiuseppe Donadoni and Paolo D’Alessandro for autoracer.
Rather than diving into problem analysis, while still protecting certain sensitive technical details—vague, generic, and imprecise statements are preferred. The first and only time there was some openness came, perhaps not coincidentally, at Imola, the home race. The Ferrari team boss admitted that they were also working on the SF-25’s mechanical components because it was something they could carry forward, though he noted that the same applied to other teams as well. That was May 15, two months after we first reported suspicions about rear suspension issues. Yet again: no clarification, no technical detail, nothing. It’s clear that Frédéric Vasseur is committed to saving his team from this season’s technical failure, but his approach—or at least its execution, a word he likes to use, doesn’t seem to be the right one. The media is seeking answers, which still haven’t come, and clarity. Starting with the upper management, who didn’t show up at Imola and are now absent again, failing to send a strong message after the recent turmoil. And so the cycle begins: speculation, stories, rumors, sometimes even gossip, often fueled by internal discontent that exists in almost all non-winning teams to varying degrees. The problem is that when Ferrari’s only voice, the only real communicator on track, Fred Vasseur, does not speak or provide the necessary explanations, he can’t just blame the Italian press. A different approach to journalism would already be a major step Ferrari could take to help itself, leaving less room for the press, the real press, to speculate.
— see video above —
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