Newey to Ferrari is not the solution: 'Wouldn't have effect for years'

Jean Alesi has expressed his support for Frederic Vasseur as Ferrari team boss. Despite the disappointing performance this season, it is too early to blame Vasseur, the former F1 driver explained to Eurosport.

Ferrari is currently having its worst start to a season since 2009. In the first three races, the team have not earned a single victory, no podium, and the drivers have only managed to get into the points three times so far this season. Charles Leclerc was challenging Max Verstappen for the title last year, but now the Monegasque currently stands in a sorry tenth place. As a result of the disappointing start, major internal changes are underway at Ferrari.

However, Alesi, who himself drove at Ferrari in the 1990s, thinks it is far too premature to judge Vasseur already for the current performance. "Frederic Vasseur is the right man in the right place," reasons Alesi. "Reliability, performance and stability are the goals to be achieved. He can also choose the order of priorities, but that is what Ferrari needs. Hierarchies between drivers? That makes no sense at the moment, because if Charles Leclerc, for example, is chosen as the first driver, it has no impact on the performance of the car."

Rumours also recently surfaced that Ferrari might attract Adrian Newey to improve performance. Although Red Bull team boss Christian Horner immediately made it clear that Newey isn't going anywhere, Alesi said that wouldn't be the right solution anyway. "It is not like in the past. Even if he could go to Ferrari because of the clauses in the contracts, you wouldn't see the first Ferrari under Newey at work before 2025."