New Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur revealed he has spoken to two notable predecessors in preparation for taking over the role.
He has already met with Mattia Binotto, who has been replaced by Vasseur after four years in charge of the Scuderia. Vasseur was approached to take over his position shortly after last year’s season finale.
“The process was crystal clear,” Vasseur told selected media including RaceFans. “Even if we had some rumours in the press before Abu Dhabi or during Abu Dhabi, we didn’t discuss before. We had the first discussion the week after Abu Dhabi and it was very, very quick as a process.
“Then I had a call with Mattia and I even met Mattia during the handover and we had a one-to-one discussion and I [will] thank Mattia for this because I appreciated the move from Mattia. They had to wait for me to discuss together, it was really appreciated from my side.”
Vasseur was team principal of the Sauber-run Alfa Romeo team until the end of last year. However despite manufacturer Audi arrival at the team due in 2026, he did not want to turn down the opportunity offered by Ferrari chairman John Elkann.
“When I had a call from Ferrari I didn’t share the call with everybody in the world,” said Vasseur. “It was my own reflection and my own discussion with John Elkann. I didn’t share it at all with Audi before the announcement.”
“I had a chat with someone from Audi and they told me that you can’t refuse an offer from Ferrari,” he added.
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Binotto’s departure came after Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna described their disappointment at finishing second. The team’s last world championship triumph was 15 years ago.
Vasseur is unconcerned by the pressure from higher up in the organisation to deliver and is confident he has the autonomy he requires to run the team as he chooses to.
“The Gestione Sportiva, the team, is part of the bigger organisation of Ferrari. But I have a CEO, it’s Benedetto Vigna, and the chairman for the company, and the situation is crystal clear.
“But even last year at Sauber I had to report to the chairman of the group and you have always a boss. It’s not a new situation for me now that I’m running the team, that I have the delegation to do it and I will do it as I want.
“We have enough discussion with Benedetto and John on a daily basis to discuss about key points, and this is crystal…
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