F1 News

Fred Vasseur on Ferrari's struggles after Monaco

Ferrari lacks the 'Red Bull DNA', according to Frédéric Vasseur

15 August at 12:00
  • Ben Stevens
  • Editor

After Charles Leclerc finally won his home race in Monaco, everyone thought Ferrari could now consistently fight at the front of the grid with Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes. However, they have struggled since that win. They have taken two podiums since. Ferrari's team principal Fred Vasseur has opened up on how he manages the Ferrari team during a difficult period like this. 

Vasseur: "Have to do a better job"

Speaking to F1.com, Vasseur has admitted he doesn't have a 'To-Do' list for managing Ferrari. "It's much more about a continuous improvement approach. We don't have to do one thing and it's done. Every single day, we have to try and do a better job than yesterday. It’s even more true today in F1, with such small gaps between the teams and the cars. Every single detail is making a huge difference in terms of results. The average between us and the guys in front is something like three or four-hundredths of a second." 

Ferrari currently sit third in the constructors standings, but Mercedes behind them have won three of the last four races. Despite this, Vasseur remains level-headed and wants to implement that mindset throughout his whole team. “If I have to be proud of something, it’s not the result,” he says. “The result is a consequence. It’s more the fact everybody is more keen to take risk, a bit less scared – the consequence is the result. The fact that we are trying to change a bit the mentality."

“It’s a mindset for me. You can’t keep margin. You have to take risk everywhere [if you want to win]. This is a racing mentality. It is probably also the DNA of Red Bull. It’s where we need a step forward.”