Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur Addresses 'Disaster' 2025 Season

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has openly dissected the team's disastrous 2025 Formula 1 campaign, a season that yielded zero victories, an early championship deficit, and internal criticism. Vasseur acknowledged the Scuderia failed to meet its own ambitious targets, describing a year marred by a poor start, costly setbacks, and an inability to convert sporadic strong performances into wins.

Why it matters:

Ferrari's winless season represents a significant setback for the sport's most historic team, especially after showing promise in previous years. Vasseur's candid assessment highlights the immense pressure and microscopic margins in modern F1, where early-season mistakes can define an entire campaign. His acceptance of public criticism from star drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton also signals a cultural shift within the team, prioritizing accountability over silence.

The details:

• The season unraveled from the very first race in Bahrain, where the car's lack of optimal pace became immediately apparent.
• A pivotal, painful blow came at the Chinese Grand Prix with a disqualification that cost the team 25 points. "You're immediately on the back foot," Vasseur stated. After just three or four races, rivals like McLaren had built a nearly 100-point advantage.
• While the team showed "strong comebacks" at races like Austin, Mexico, and Azerbaijan, and Charles Leclerc secured seven podium finishes, these were never converted into a race victory.
• Vasseur emphasized the critical role of details and timing in the current ultra-tight regulatory cycle, where a few tenths separate the top ten and a small error can lead to a Q1 elimination.
• The season also marked a career first for Lewis Hamilton, who failed to secure a single podium finish all year.

Between the lines:

Vasseur reframed the public criticism from Leclerc and Hamilton not as a problem, but as a necessary driver of improvement. "It is important to me that the drivers speak up and push the team," he said, aligning this demand for excellence with Ferrari's core DNA. His comments suggest a deliberate move towards a more transparent and driver-led feedback culture, accepting hard truths as the only path to recovery. The focus is now squarely on learning from the myriad of small failures that compounded into a winless year.

What's next:

The analysis of 2025's failures must immediately fuel development for 2026. With the new chassis project, led by Loic Serra, on the horizon, Ferrari has no time to dwell on the past. The team's ability to rectify its operational flaws and build a car that can start a season strongly will be the ultimate test of whether this painful season serves as a catalyst for change or simply a recurring nightmare.