Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Frédéric Vasseur admitted he was already feeling extra pressure from the expectations of the Tifosi, who are diehard fans, and thought it would be good for the team. ing. Vasseur joined Scuderia Ferrari earlier this year following the departure of former team principal Mattia Binotto.
Outside of Ferrari, it is widely perceived that politics within the Maranello factory is quite intense, which has led to a high turnover of team principals in recent years. But ahead of his first race with the team, Vasseur doesn’t think working at Ferrari is any more difficult than elsewhere. But he admits that the team has a unique external pressure due to the enthusiastic Tifosi. “I don’t think it’s any harder than anywhere else,” Vasseur told Autosport when asked how he has dealt with internal Ferrari politics. “The passion and enthusiasm within the team is mega. When we announced it two weeks ago, there were thousands of tifosi behind the fence. You won’t find anything like this anywhere in the world.” That enthusiasm can be felt everywhere, even at the hotel, where there are fans. “I think it’s positive, to be honest. When you’re doing shows, you want this pressure. You’re doing shows and sports.” “I know very well that Formula 1 has fans who expect it and it’s probably a little bit bigger in Italy than in other countries, but for now it’s fine.” Vasseur has spent his first few weeks trying to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Ferrari’s organization. He’s already made some changes following the misstep he made in 2022, including a reorganization of his strategy team. And while he is determined to make the improvements Ferrari needs to win the title, he believes it would be wrong to change things for the sake of it. “I have to be humble,” he said of his own approach. “This team was second in the world championship last year and I don’t have to change everything,” he said. “It has to change little by little over the next few weeks. But it has nothing to do with Frédéric Vasseur or Ferrari. It’s the DNA of our business.” If you’re happy with that, you’re dead, which means we always have to put the problem on the table and try to do a better job for the next race.” I think we need to be conscious of trying to do our best, and what we are doing at the factory to improve everything, not just what we can see on the track, is also connected to our performance.”