Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur: “A complete waste of time and energy”

Fred Vasseur and the mission to win the World Championship. The 58-year-old Frenchman has been brought to Maranello to end the Scuderia’s title drought. The last driver to win the World Championship in a Ferrari? Kimi Räikkönen in 2007. The last victory in the Constructors’ Championship? 2008.

Vasseur is trying not to overthink it, but rather to focus his team on the tasks at hand, race by race. In an interview with our colleagues at the French magazine AutoHebdo, he said: “I don’t think about the World Championship when I wake up in the morning. If you ask me about our position in the standings, I’ll have to ask our press officer, Rita.”

“I don’t know the gap to Mercedes ahead of us or to McLaren behind us. (Mercedes lead with 379 points, ahead of Ferrari on 307 and McLaren on 220, M.B.) I prefer to focus on the races one by one and on our development.”

“Two years ago, when we were battling McLaren for the title right up to and including the final race, we were still nowhere at the halfway point of the season. So, in my opinion, it’s a complete waste of time and energy to focus on that.”

Ferrari isn’t a racing team like any other. Vasseur says: “All teams have their own peculiarities. We Italians or French are undoubtedly more emotional than Germans or Brits. That has its pros and cons. I knew that when I signed my contract. I’m not complaining about it.”

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“But what bothers me is that, at times, the press has turned against some of my staff, either directly or indirectly. When I read on the front page of a newspaper that Ferrari wants to replace the head of strategy or the head of aerodynamics, and their names are mentioned, I find that a bit harsh on my people. It’s not fair, it’s not helpful, and it makes a team more vulnerable.”