Frédéric Vasseur looked back on Ferrari's season, and the Scuderia director is happy to have seen his team do better in all areas in 2024 compared to the 2023 season.
“It was a good season for us, with ups and downs like everyone else, but with more ups than downs” Vasseur said. “It was a very good season compared to 2023.”
“We are moving in the right direction. We have improved in all pillars of performance – reliability, strategy, pit stops, pure performance and on the key performance indicators we had five wins to one and on points, we scored 60% more points in 2024 than in 2023.”
“Everything is going in the right direction. We missed the last stage, but when we went to Abu Dhabi the percentage chance of winning was very low. After Saturday it was more than very low. It's true that after the 2nd or 3rd lap, I'm like 'ah the planets are almost aligned now, let's push'.”
“But it's not in Abu Dhabi that we missed something. Abu Dhabi itself was a good weekend, it's more in Canada that we had a double zero, or in the summer that we missed something. thing.”
The Frenchman explains that the team never stops evolving, whether in its work or its approach: “There is no big difference. We are trying to improve our performance in all areas, in all departments of the company. It's one small step at a time.”
“It's not about having something game-changing – there's no silver bullet. You have to keep that mindset and push everyone in the group to try to do a better job, to trying to save a gram on each piece and I think we've made a good step forward in the last month.”
“Of course it's not enough, but we're moving in the right direction. It's a never-ending project, a never-ending process of recruiting, developing, trying to do a better job.”
Vasseur also had a word for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, his drivers, who had a very good 2024 season. He praised the Monegasque's progress in his approach, and the dynamic between the two men.
“I think Charles took a step forward in management – not just tire management, but also race management. As far as approach management, I think he was a little bit more …not focused, but less distracted sometimes.”
“Overall, Charles had a good season. Not always easy. Even when we had difficult times, like in Austria, Spain and the UK, he was able to come back, to have an attitude positive I think this reaction was important for him and for the team.
“For Carlos, it was last year that this reaction started. He came back after the summer break with a very high level of performance – the podium in Monza, the pole in Monza, the victory in Singapore, and that pushed Charles to react and to do, in the end, six or seven first lines in a row.”
“From there, I think we took a good step forward and that was part of the team's recovery. They always pushed each other – in a good way – and they have done very well. I am very satisfied with their relationship.”
The Frenchman also confirmed that Ferrari was not going to rest on its laurels in terms of development for 2025 and that the Scuderia was going to offer aggressive developments on its single-seater next year.
“Everyone takes risks. If you don't take risks, you're dead. We know the development of this car, it's never easy because we are at the top of the development and it's more and more difficult .”
“Everyone takes risks and we have to take risks too because 2025 will be a strange season. We will have to change quite early with the 2026 project, which means the car you put on track in Bahrain will be crucial.
He also advocates a permanent questioning within the Scuderia: “I want to keep the same approach as last year in terms of recruitment, development and continuous improvement. This mindset is part of the DNA of every F1 team.”
“If at any point you say you're in good shape, I think that's the beginning of the end. You have to push the limits in every area every day and come to the factory every morning saying: I have to do a better job than yesterday. If you have this approach, I think you're on the right track.”
