Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur talks about the mindset change that has taken place at the Scuderia since his appointment. The Frenchman started at the Italian team in 2023 and was shocked at how much Ferrari still avoided risks in the development of its cars back then. The team is now much more open to radical concepts, such as the ‘Macarena’ wing. ‘There will be more ideas like this to come,’ Vasseur also reveals.
Frédéric Vasseur has been the team principal at Ferrari since 2023. Although he has faced speculation about his future at the Scuderia several times during his tenure, the Frenchman managed to set the team on an upward trajectory. The drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, often compete at the top of the field this season. In addition, Ferrari is increasingly bringing notable upgrades, such as the much-discussed ‘Macarena’ wing.
According to Vasseur, the Ferrari he found when he took over would never have dared to introduce such a radical concept as the ‘Macarena’ wing. The Italian team was still too cautious in the development of its car at the time, according to the Frenchman. “It’s not that there was a culture of fear or guilt or anything like that back then – but maybe we were a bit cautious,” Vasseur candidly tells The Race.
Two tenths deficit
“The first thing that shocked me when I started at Ferrari was the deficit we had on every subject, simply because we didn’t want to take too many risks,” the team principal continues. “We added an extra kilo of weight to safely stay within the limit, used half a liter or more of fuel, opened the sidepod a bit more, etc. Ultimately, when you add it all up, it was about a two-tenths deficit to the rest of the field. And if you consider that the difference between us and the driver ahead of us last year was on average three hundredths of a second, you can imagine what impact one tenth of a second deficit already has on a season.”
Vasseur therefore set the goal of changing the mentality within Ferrari. The Frenchman hoped to motivate everyone in the team to push closer to the limit. “Regarding innovation, my message is that we push the edge everywhere,” he adds. “If you have an idea, tell it. We never blame anyone if you suggest something and it doesn’t work. You have already seen some examples on and in the car – and there will be more to come. The team now has the mentality to continue innovating, and that helps enormously.”
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