Frederic Vasseur Announces “Aggressive” Changes To Push Ferrari’s Chances at Beating Red Bull

Ferrari endured a rather difficult start to the 2023 season. After looking like serious contenders for the Constructor’s Championship in the early stages of 2022, the Maranello side seemed to lose the plot and the dominant Red Bull left them in the wake. In fact, during a significant portion of the early season, Aston Martin looked faster than Ferrari. However, after the Italian Grand Prix, they seemed to have turned things around, as things started to look a little promising.

Ferrari managed to be the only non-Red Bull team to win a race, thanks to Carlos Sainz‘s genius in the Singapore Grand Prix. While there have been many rumors about this turnaround, team principal Frederic Vasseur recently suggested that the aggressive changes that he’s made might be one of the key reasons.

Ferrari’s incredible turnaround

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Frederic Vasseur commented on the turnaround that Ferrari managed to bring in. When asked if he’d be making any changes to the team, this is what he had to say. “We have already changed some people but I don’t like naming names. I never have and I never will. In the end, it’s not about one person, including myself, the most important thing is the working group we have, I’m proud of the reaction the team had during the season, everyone, including the drivers, we were able to react after six difficult months and starting from Monza we have seen the results.”

He also indicated that Formula 1 is a very fluid ecosystem, and organizations must constantly adapt to stay at the top of their game. “Then we know that in an organization there are always some individual changes to be made and we are doing that. We are hiring a lot, but we know the Formula 1 system.” Thanks to the way that notice periods, gardening leaves, and regulations work, it might take some time before the changes are seen in the performance when it comes to results.

The 55-year-old added, “At the beginning, there is a sort of enormous inertia due to the contracts in force. When you realize you have a problem that requires hiring, we know that a new person joining the team will have twelve months of gardening, and six months’ notice and, after this period, can only be active on the year’s project following. So from the moment you need a person to the moment they become operational, there is a risk that two to three years will pass. For this reason, I believe that for us the most important point was the improvement in the approach and mentality. I think in the end we took more risks and were able to be a little more aggressive.“

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He then credited an incredible shift in the mindsets of everyone within the team, citing it as the biggest reason for the team’s comeback. While the 2023 season ended on a decent note for Ferrari, they would definitely be hoping to continue this momentum into the 2024 season.

Ferrari’s hopes for 2024

Both the drivers driving for the Italian outfits are cautiously optimistic about their 2024 chances. Both drivers have stated that the team was able to incorporate a lot of learnings from the ’23 season, helping them develop a “very different” SF-24. They have had access to the Simulator for some time now, and are indicating that the SF-24 is an overall faster car, with some compromises made.

However, with the Maranello side, it’s not only the car that’s been the problem in the past. Critics argue that while the car is one side of the things, their strategy has been oftentimes horrendous, with questionable calls made, like putting on the Hard tires in the Hungarian Grand Prix this season. However, one of the first things Frederic Vasseur did after taking charge was replace personnel in the strategy department, hoping to fix this issue.

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What do you think about the 2024 season for Ferrari? Will they catch up to Red Bull?