Frédéric Vasseur left the relative comfort of Alfa Romeo to take up the stressful job at Ferrari, which instantly raises questions that need to be answered.
When Mattia Binoto announced his resignation as Ferrari team boss at the end of 2022, speculation soon turned to who would step up and jump into the firing line as his successor.
Vasseur soon emerged as a leading contender and the rumors became reality when his departure from Alfa Romeo was confirmed and his appointment to Ferrari announced.
While there is plenty of attention on the midfield, Vasseur as Ferrari boss will now find himself under the most scrutiny of his time in Formula 1, especially as Ferrari’s 2022 title challenges have crumbled.
So here are five key questions Vasseur will soon have to answer as Ferrari team principal.
Does the no-nonsense approach remain or will Ferrari have to tow the line?
In an F1 world where many in the paddock are programmed to keep their words PR-friendly, Vasseur is one of the team bosses who calls a spade a spade. He will speak his mind.
Now, that’s probably something that could serve Ferrari well, especially in their native Italy, where it might benefit Vasseur and the team to address any criticism head-on, or also take the plaudits if the good days come.
That being said, this is Ferrari after all, they are much more than a team, rather a national treasure representing the nation of Italy and also working as an international team.
Time will soon tell if Ferrari are happy with Vasseur continuing to use his no-nonsense approach, or if the Scuderia will try to rein him in a bit now that he is the public face of the team and the brand.
Does it show total commitment to Charles Leclerc?
Vasseur’s arrival at Ferrari will see him reunited with a driver he is very familiar with, that is Ferrari’s home star Leclerc.
It was at Alfa Romeo-Sauber that Leclerc made his Formula 1 breakthrough, arriving at Vasseur’s team as part of Ferrari’s program to learn the ropes of the top series after impressively winning back-to-back GP3 and Formula 2 titles.
In F1-75, which at least started 2022 as the front-runner, Leclerc had the edge over team-mate Carlos Sainz for most of the season, finishing with three wins to Sainz’s and nine pole positions to Sainz’s three.
The final points tally showed Leclerc on 308 and Sainz on 246, but while Ferrari have a history of fielding number one and number two drivers, Binotto was adamant that they would not be giving such orders to Leclerc and Sainz.
Given their history, it remains to be seen whether Vasseur will look to build the team around Leclerc, or maintain a “let them race” approach.
Can he fix Ferrari’s race day operations?
Before the F1-75 started falling behind the RB18 for outright race pace in the second half of the season, Ferrari had already gone a long way to destroying their title chances with poor strategic decisions and communication.
Monaco and Leclerc’s explosive response to the confusion surrounding his pit stop was arguably a perfect illustration of Ferrari’s indecisiveness and shortcomings in the strategy department, meaning that by the time they produced a flawless performance at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it was too late.
Of course, Ferrari need to make sure this is a sign of things to come and not a one-off when it goes well, so can Vasseur turn Ferrari into a consistently effective outfit?
If Red Bull, Mercedes or any rival team starts with a challenger that can match or even slightly overtake Ferrari, then Vasseur must make sure that his team positively influences their pit results and not the other way around.
Will Vasseur remove the culture without charges?
Despite the mistakes that were clear to all, Binotto chose not to point the finger at his team members, part of the no-blame culture he tried to create, but even went so far as to deny Ferrari’s strategic nightmares were a problem.
Tying in with Vasseur’s aforementioned no-nonsense approach, will he continue the trend of protecting those at Ferrari after any negative events, or will there be more public and private scrutiny of those individual team members who want to bring the Scuderia back to the top?
How much time are they giving him from Ferrari?
Ferrari made a clear point in its statement announcing Vasseur’s appointment that his leadership is an asset the team needs going forward, suggesting the Scuderia are willing to let him mold the team to his vision.
Then of course this will take time, logically the Vasseur should be made available until at least the end of 2025, at which point the current engine regulations will fall away to keep Ferrari steadily going positive.
But if P2 in the final standings for 2022, after a season in which Ferrari started with a title-contending car, is the basis, then will P3 or below in 2023 be considered a failure that puts Vasseur’s position in doubt?
Mercedes are expected to return to title challenges in 2023, while Alpine, for example, are talking positively after a strong 2022 with further gains expected in the new season, so competition could be fierce if Ferrari is to at least keep P2 or make the only possible improvement from there, win the constructors’ or drivers’ title…
Read next: How Ferrari’s move for Fred Vasseur spurred McLaren into action
Add Comment