Twenty months into the biggest job in Formula 1 and Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur is methodically chipping away at reshaping the world’s most famous racing team, as he bids to turn them back into world beaters and champions of the sport.
It hasn’t been easy, obviously. Every decision he makes, every move on track, every result at the chequered flag is analysed in minute detail. At Ferrari, if you succeed, it’s expected. If you lose, you’re criticised more than most.
For Italy and the team’s loyal fanbase known as the tifosi, anything other than victory is considered failure. After 14 races this year, Ferrari sit third in the constructors’ championship – exactly where they were after the same number of races last year. Red Bull remain the team to beat.
On paper, then, Ferrari – and thus Vasseur – are not doing a good job. But that is not a fair analysis. The Italian squad are in a much stronger position than they were last year. They have accumulated 345 points – 117 more than they had at the same point last year – and are just 63 off the lead.
And while the criticism externally continues, internally, it’s a different picture. Ferrari employees are not getting in their own heads and are no longer their worst enemy. Talk to senior people in the team and they will tell you they are staying calm. Does Vasseur agree?
“I think so,” he says, when we chat in his office on the middle floor of Ferrari’s paddock hospitality unit. “Internally, the mood is OK. For sure we wanted to get more, and probably we overreacted on some events, trying to get more. When you have an aggressive attitude, sometimes you get less. It’s where we have to stay calm.”