Unconcerned by Ferrari’s Valuable Culture, Frederic Vasseur Willing to Take Stern Decisions to Right the Ship

A tree is judged by its fruits and not by its roots. Ferrari is the oldest team in Formula 1 and is deeply rooted in their culture. Everything needs to happen the Ferrari way. One can say this outdated culture, mindset, and willingness to not accept failures is the reason behind Ferrari’s unsuccessful campaign. The Ferrari boss unlike his predecessors is inclined towards making things right, even if it means going against the “culture” as per the words of an ex-F1 driver.

Ferrari last won the championship back in 2008. Most successful teams accept the failures as a whole rather than pointing fingers. Ferrari was too slow to accept their mistakes and by the time it did, it was too late. However, things are about to change with the arrival of Frederic Vasseur. While the previous two Team Principals were both Italian and understood the culture, that is not the case with Vasseur. The Frenchman is not distracted by outlying matters and is focused on the performance only. 

According to Formule1.nl, David Coulthard said “As a foreigner, Fred doesn’t need to be culturally aware. He can say, ‘Guys, this is a race team, I’m the boss and this is how we’re going to do it’. And it will be less about personal interests, reputations or relationships,” when asked about Vasseur.

The Scottish further added “Vasseur is a racer. That is another important aspect. Binotto was an engineer, Arrivabene a marketing man. Vasseur is not distracted by peripheral matters, he is only focused on the performance of the car.”

Also Read: Clever Frederic Vasseur Takes Charge of Ferrari’s Weak Frontier as Charles Leclerc Left Focused & Relaxed: “I’ll Keep This Approach”

Vasseur has already made changes to Ferrari’s strategy team with Ravin Jain looking after the strategy at the racetrack and Former Head of Strategy Inaki Rueda moving back to Maranello. He additionally explained that it’s not about the people but the process. With the change in attitude, the Tifosi have high hopes for this season.

Can Ferrari match Red Bull’s performance?

Ferrari met Red Bull’s pace during the 2023 Bahrain Qualifying. It might just be a matter of setup and getting up to speed with the car before Ferrari can unlock its true potential. Although Charles Leclerc retired from the race with an engine failure, reliability is something the team can work on during the season. 

As per motorsport.com, Vasseur said “I never saw a car to match the pace of another one in quali and not to able to race. [So] then it’s a matter of set-up and some choices on the car.”

“But now we have to be fully realistic. If we want to improve, we need to have a clear picture of the situation, and reliability is not at the level that we need.”

Watch this Story: Ferrari Strategy Fails We Will Never Forget

Red Bull has less aerodynamic testing time than Ferrari so it will not be wrong to assume that Ferrari can catch up with them. Do you think Vassuer will take Ferrari back to winning ways?