It is too early to shine a spotlight on Frederic Vasseur’s performance as Ferrari team boss so far.
That is the view of Maurizio Arrivabene, who lasted four years in the exact same role until he was replaced by the also now ousted Mattia Binotto.
Binotto’s successor this year is Frenchman Vasseur, and so far the Maranello based team has continued to struggle to return to the very top of Formula 1.
“I’ve known Vasseur for some time,” Arrivabene told Sky Italia. “He did great things with Alfa and discovered a champion like Leclerc.
“But when you’re in Maranello, it’s not easy. It’s a different organisation with so many people to manage. The brand is beautiful and also heavy. There’s a lot of pressure.
“You need time to settle in and understand the mechanisms, as well as understand what Ferrari represents for Italy. So he was right not to enter with heavy foot. First, you have to get to know the people.”
The two Ferraris finished just ninth and tenth at Silverstone, and Arrivabene agrees that, “as a Ferrari fan, I am not satisfied with the result”.
“However, it is clear that the team must be supported, above all in difficult moments. When you win, it is easy to get on the bandwagon.
“The role of the team principal is to motivate the team to always give its best.”
Finally, Arrivabene said the jury is still out on whether the teams’ spending budget cap, which was first imposed in 2021, has had the desired effect.
“There have been endless discussions about the budget cap, even in my day, to safeguard the smaller teams,” said the Italian. “It’s good to create processes to maximise all that waste.
“But if the goal was to decrease the gap between the first and last, it has not been achieved. The usual ones are always still at the front.”
