Under Vasseur’s leadership, Ferrari has discarded its blame culture, embracing a bold, fearless approach.
Lewis Hamilton’s signing has boosted the confidence of an already progressing Ferrari team. Victories in Australia for Carlos Sainz and in Monaco for Charles Leclerc, along with solid performances in other races, mean that Ferrari is back in the race, even though recent rounds have proved more challenging.
So why is the gap narrowing? Frédéric Vasseur has addressed the blame culture that prevailed within the team.
He is encouraging engineers and staff in roles he describes as “performance differentiators” to be more aggressive and take greater risks. They trust him to take responsibility if things do not work out.
“If you are afraid of the capacity to take risks, you add a margin everywhere. And, in our business, you can have five cars within a tenth of a second. I’ve spent the last 15 months pushing everyone. Because the more risks we take, the better we will become at managing those risks. I am really pleased with this step forward.”
“At Ferrari, we need not fear the consequences of our actions. The team, perhaps in the past, was a bit fearful of external forces (media pressure). But it’s my job to manage that, to push them to be a bit more aggressive. And then to own up to the mistakes when we make them.”
For Vasseur, being French gives him a certain detachment from the Italian press, a time for reflection and space to step back from the emotion of situations. He has learned from Jean Todt that, for Ferrari to succeed, the team director must act as a human shield against these external forces, allowing the team to continue its work.
“The more emotional and passionate we are, the more vulnerable we become, because emotions fluctuate wildly. For everyone, Monaco was a monumental weekend. The following week in Canada was a disaster. But when you are in the mix, you feel that the difference between Monaco and Canada is very, very slight: just a few tenths of a second.”
“The perception of results is sometimes far greater than the reality on the track. This means that one must remain calm. In both cases, the same analysis of what is going well and what is going wrong must be conducted, and one must stay away from emotion. That’s how you build confidence.”
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Ferrari’s Fresh Start: Vasseur Ends Era of Blame Ferrari’s Fresh Start: Vasseur Ends Era of Blame
