It has been some time since rumors about Mattia Binotto leaving Scuderia Ferrari have started spreading around Social Media. And that led to a series of discussions as to who would be his replacement starting in 2023. Some pointed out that McLaren's Andreas Seidl could move into that position, but it seemed more likely that Alfa Romeo's Frederic Vasseur would be the best choice for the Italian squad.
Today, Scuderia Ferrari has announced that Fred Vasseur has been appointed Team Principal and General Manager for their F1 program. The 54-year-old has been successfully involved in motorsports for over 25 years now. He has reached exceptional results in the GP2 series with Nico Rosberg in 2005 and Lewis Hamilton in 2006.
For the past six seasons, he has been at the helm of Team Alfa Romeo F1 and subsequently speaking Sauber Motorsport. During these years, he has worked with drivers like Kimi Raikkonen, Antonio Giovinazzi, Robert Kubica, and Pascal Wehrlein.
In 2022 he led the team to its most successful F1 season since 2012. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu amassed enough points to allow Alfa Romeo to take P6 in the Constructors Championship.
What's even more interesting to note is that in 2018, Vasseur worked closely with Charles Leclerc throughout the season, so that should allow for easier communication starting in 2023. The Frenchman will have quite the mountain to climb, as Scuderia Ferrari is eager to get back on top of the game after many years of disappointing results.
Since 2008, the team has had four different principals: Stefano Domenicali, Marco Mattiacci, Maurizio Arrivabene, and Mattia Binotto. As you can tell, they were all Italians so it must have been a tough decision for Ferrari to look for a solution somewhere else.
But we should also remember what happened the last time the team had a French Principal. Jean Todt was in charge of Scuderia Ferrari between 1993 to 2007. During that time the Italians won six Driver Championships (five with Schumacher, one with Raikkonen) and eight Constructors Championships!
It has been clear throughout the 2022 season that both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have it in them to win the World Championship. They'll be facing some serious competition from the likes of Verstappen, Perez, and Russell in 2023. But Ferrari hopes that Vasseur's expertise will provide the missing ingredient required to claim the coveted title.
He acknowledged the challenge ahead by noting that "I am truly delighted and honored to take over the leadership of Scuderia Ferrari as Team Principal. As someone who has always held a lifelong passion for motorsport, Ferrari has always represented the very pinnacle of the racing world to me. I look forward to working with the talented and truly passionate team in Maranello to honor the history and heritage of the Scuderia and deliver for our Tifosi around the world.”
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Andreas Seidl will be moving away from McLaren in 2023. And there's a good chance that he will be replacing Fred Vasseur at Alfa Romeo ahead of the 2026 Audi takeover.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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