Motorsport
“Fresh blood in the system”: Ferrari starts the attack
Has been Ferrari team boss since January 2023: Frenchman Frederic Vasseur. photo
© Tim Goode/PA Wire/dpa
The future at Ferrari has begun with the signing of Lewis Hamilton. The record world champion should bring the Scuderia the Formula 1 title again. Ferrari’s renovation is underway.
The Italians don’t want to believe it. Lewis Hamilton is already in Imola, but is still not wearing one Ferrari red. “I’m a Mercedes driver,” says the Formula 1 record world champion dutifully when he is asked in the paddock about his first “home game” for the Scuderia since the sensational change was announced.
The Tifosi may have already acquired Hamilton, but there is still just over six months of contract between the English superstar and his debut for Ferrari. A new era has long since begun for the racing team with the Cavallino Prancing Horse in its logo.
Hamilton should give Ferrari a “boost”.
The Frenchman Frederic Vasseur has been Ferrari team boss since January 2023 and is working on the renovation of the traditional racing team with an aggressive personnel policy. The commitment of Hamilton from next year is just the clearest signal that the Scuderia wants to get back to the top.
In an interview offensive before the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna in “La Repubblica”, Vasseur described the mega transfer of the seven-time world champion as “fresh blood in the system”. “He is someone who knows how to put pressure on the team to produce top performances. That will give us a big boost.”
Ferrari needs Hamilton as a development accelerator. Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 is still the last drivers’ world champion in red, the last constructors’ title dates back to 2008. At that time, Hamilton became world champion for the first time in a McLaren and the Ferrari team boss was still called Stefano Domenicali, who is now the boss of the entire racing series.
Hamilton, d’Ambrosio, Serra – and Newey too?
“We are still a young team. It’s not just a question of age, but also of shared experience and shared victories,” Vasseur continued, explaining the coup with Hamilton. “That means we’re still pretty green behind the ears. Bringing in someone with such a great background and experience will certainly have an impact.” It has to be. The pressure is already immense.
Hamilton is not the last building block in Vasseur’s Ferrari architecture. The Belgian Jerome d’Ambrosio, who will be Vasseur’s right-hand man in the future, and the Frenchman Loic Serra, who will oversee chassis development, will also be coming from Mercedes on October 1st. “I’m trying to change the corporate culture so that we become a little more aggressive everywhere,” Vasseur explained his approach.
Vasseur quickly replaces Leclerc’s race engineer
This also includes replacing staff at short notice if necessary. In the middle of the season, Charles Leclerc gets a new race engineer in Bryan Bozzi, who replaces the hapless Xavi Marcos. It’s a serious step considering how close the connection is between driver and race engineer.
“We often fight for fractions of a hundredth. If you have the feeling that you can improve something, it’s good to do that,” said Vasseur, once Hamilton’s team boss in GP2 and Formula 3, explaining his decision. Formula 1 chroniclers noted that the last time such a sensitive change at Ferrari occurred was in 2006 with Felipe Massa. Vasseur is serious.
Ferrari upgrades in Imola: Almost a side note
Vasseur is far from finished with his renovation. The fact that his racing team has upgrades in Imola is almost a side note. There is still strong speculation that star designer Adrian Newey could also switch to Ferrari after his announced departure from industry leader Red Bull. According to the Daily Mail, the contract with the 65-year-old has already been signed.
“Adrian is a reference for the entire Formula 1 because he has experience and success,” said Vasseur about the Brit, who won a total of 12 constructors’ titles and 13 drivers’ titles with his designs. Newey himself recently admitted his regret that he never worked for Ferrari during his career. Hamilton then immediately told the mastermind that he thought his employment with the Italians was great. The renovation is underway.