Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both expressed their approval following the announcement that Fred Vasseur will continue as Ferrari team principal on a new multi-year contract, confirmed just ahead of the F1 Hungarian GP weekend.
Vasseur’s initial contract was set to expire at the end of 2025. His leadership had faced growing scrutiny in recent months as Ferrari faced a difficult start to the year following an enthusiastic pre-season period. Speculation emerged, particularly from sections of the Italian media, that Ferrari might be weighing up a leadership change.
Leclerc has achieved a string of podiums since the Saudi Arabian GP, but the team is still searching for its first win this season, as the McLaren duo and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen have solidified themselves as frontrunners.
Leclerc welcomes news of Vasseur’s “multi-year” contract extension
On Thursday morning, Vasseur was confirmed to be staying at Ferrari after a “multi-year” deal was reached between the Frenchman and Scuderia Ferrari’s management.
Leclerc, who had previously voiced his support for Vasseur, revealed he was “really happy” to learn of the renewal.
“It’s not that it’s coming as a surprise, but I’m really happy,” he told the media during Thursday’s press conference at the Hungaroring.
“Especially in the past month, there were quite a few rumours, like is always the case around the team. To finally have the official news out is important and I’m really happy.”
Leclerc and Vasseur first worked together during the Monégasque’s rookie season at Sauber in 2018. Their partnership resumed in 2023 when Vasseur succeeded Mattia Binotto as team principal at Ferrari.
Vasseur hailed for his “incredible vision”
“Without going into comparing the different eras, Fred has an incredible vision,” Leclerc said when asked what Vasseur brought to the team in his time at the helm.
“What’s very difficult within Ferrari is the emotion is very much part of the daily job because Italian people in general, and that’s what makes Ferrari so special, are extremely passionate about Ferrari.
“Fred really knows how to leave his emotions aside and have a clear vision of where we are at no matter how much noise there is around the team. This is very, very important. Apart from that, he’s got many more qualities. One of them is also to extract the maximum out of every single person at the factory and this, when you put everything together, it makes a big difference.”
Leclerc added: “He definitely changed the way we are working on different things.
“Where Fred made the biggest difference is his vision, his overall vision. This, he embedded it into the team and that’s very important. I feel that the beauty of Ferrari is the fact that emotionally it’s always intense, but it can also harm us in some ways, especially when tougher times arrive. Fred has always had very cold blood in those moments and helped the team to be a little bit more, lucid…And that’s the biggest thing Fred has brought to the team.”
Stability essential to future success
Leclerc also stressed the importance of continuity in leadership as Ferrari aims to return to winning ways in the near future.
“I’m not the one making the decisions, but I think stability is always very important,” he said.
“Fred is the person we look up to and the person leading the team. To have him for many more years is definitely a good thing, also because in Formula 1 it takes time to build something, especially a successful team. I’m very happy about that. Knowing that I’ll be able to have Fred alongside me for more years makes me optimistic for the future.”
The Monégasque mentioned how Vasseur’s personality plays a positive role in the team dynamic.
“He’s definitely very funny,” Leclerc shared.
“I’m sure it plays a part in the team. We’ve got some very funny guys within the team as well. However, we are obviously here to work. It helps. Whenever we have team dinners, we are having a good time, and it really feels like a family.
“For me, it definitely feels like a family. I’ve been growing up in Ferrari basically and I’m still there. Fred has integrated into the team extremely well. Now he’s leading it with his sense of humour as well, which sometimes can lighten some difficult situations. Again, I’m really happy about Fred’s reconfirmation within the team.”
Early hype hurt Ferrari
Leclerc conceded that the pre-season hype around Ferrari—debuting an impressive new lineup, hoping to continue the positive momentum from the second half of 2024—led to inflated expectations and ultimately disappointment when they were not met.
“Definitely, the fact that there was so much hype around the team at the beginning of the year made everything worse,” he commented.
“When we then started the season, I think everybody thought we were going to win the championship and unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Then there were rumours and that took a bigger proportion than what we want. These are not things we can control. As I was saying earlier, it’s part of Ferrari. It’s always been the case and it will never change. We cannot focus on that. The best thing we can do is try and not think about those things as much as possible.”
Hamilton backs Vasseur as the “right choice” for Ferrari
A similar set of questions was put to Hamilton in a written media session.
“I mean, I only heard yesterday about it, so…” he said of Vasseur’s contract extension. “You’ve heard my positive comments about Fred, so yeah. I told everyone that that was the right choice. Fred signed me, and I’ve been wanting to work with him.
“All I can say, just from my previous experience, is just I remember the real positive when I was working with Toto [Wolff], is just how he was able to utilise individuals, figure out how people work best, how to get the most out of someone. (…) And I think Fred’s very similar in that respect, and so I’m still trying to learn the way that Fred likes to work, but I have absolute confidence in Fred, as I’ve always said.”
