At the dawn of the end of the season where everything still remains to be decided in Formula 1, Ferrari “has no choice but to do a great job” to try to win its first constructors’ title since 2008, its boss, Frédéric Vasseur, explained to AFP on the sidelines of the United States GP this weekend in Austin, Texas.
“We missed a lot of opportunities because of the performance”he also conceded, recognizing that if the title escaped the Scuderia, “we will know why”.
QUESTION: F1 begins a final marathon of six GPs in eight weeks this weekend, how is Ferrari approaching this final stretch?
ANSWER: “The sequence is tense for the drivers, for the mechanics, for the stock of parts… but there are still a lot of points on the table, the championship is close. The human performance side – a little from the teams, but a lot from the drivers – will come into play. »
Q: The Scuderia is currently third in the constructors’ championship, just 34 points behind Red Bull and 75 behind McLaren. Is the title playable?
Frédéric Vasseur, the principal team of Scuderia Ferrari, during sprint qualifying for the F1 United States Grand Prix on October 18, 2024 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas / ANGELA WEISS / AFP
R: “We missed a lot of opportunities because of performance – in Canada, Spain, Austria and Great Britain we missed quite a few points (in those four consecutive rounds, Ferrari only scored 50 points in total, Editor’s note). If we’re not champions, we’ll know why. We also missed a lot on incidents – in Azerbaijan and Singapore (in September, Editor’s note). Of course, we’re not racing with +si+, but we could be in front today. We need to focus on ourselves. We have no choice but to do a great job. But honestly, I can’t fault the team for the season. »
Q: So you’re aiming for the title…
R: “I wasn’t thinking about it at the start of the season and I’m not going to think about it now. What I want right now is to win in Austin. »
Q: How did you experience your first victory in Italy, at the beginning of September at Monza, as Ferrari boss?
R: “It’s a weekend where we win even though we perhaps didn’t have the best car, that’s already something exceptional. Afterwards, there is the fan side, with the fans. Already last year, when we took pole (with Carlos Sainz, Editor’s note), it was exceptional but here, with the victory, it was beyond belief. The whole straight line with the fans… the fact that people wait in the evening at the factory for the mechanics to come back… it’s a real source of motivation. »
Frédéric Vasseur, the team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, during free practice for the F1 United States Grand Prix on October 18, 2024 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas / ANGELA WEISS / AFP/Archives
Q: Renault announced at the end of September to abandon the production of F1 engines from 2026, ending nearly 50 years of history in the elite. We know that you are particularly attached to this team, how do you react to this news?
R: “As a Ferrari manager, I have no comment to make on the reasons, but what is true for everyone today is that the production of an F1 engine is a money pit. On a more personal level, I started my professional life in 91 in Formula Renault, my first championship title in France was with the Renault engine. My first international race was with the Renault engine. I was in GP2 (the old name of Formula 2) with a Renault engine and I started in F1 with a Renault engine. If I do F1 today, it’s also perhaps because I saw Arnoux (then at Renault) and Villeneuve (at Ferrari) fighting in Dijon. My life has been punctuated by Renault’s presence in F1, so obviously it hurts me that it’s stopping. I think that of the 400 Renault employees, I must know 200 personally. They are competent, passionate people. »
Q: Who will join Ferrari?
R: “We are in a permanent recruitment process. But we don’t recruit because there are people on the market. We have a plan but we also have to respect a +cost cap+ (a budgetary ceiling). But it is certain that we have received many more CVs from Renault than we have had in 10 years. »
Comments collected on the Circuit of the Americas by Hélène DAUSCHY.
