Worrying development for Fred Vasseur as Ferrari looks to emulate McLaren in one key area: Reports

Rumors of Fred Vasseur leaving Ferrari came around the paddock in time for the 2025 Canadian GP. While the Ferrari team boss and the drivers have put those rumors in the bin, the latest reports suggest that the higher management at the Maranello-based team was considering emulating McLaren in key areas by appointing a CEO above the team principal.

Many teams, such as Mercedes and Red Bull, have had the same person fulfilling the roles of both the team principal and the CEO in the form of Toto Wolff and, formerly, Christian Horner (now Laurent Mekies). This gives the person the entire control over the technical, political, and financial side of things.

However, McLaren, on the other hand, opts for a different route by having Zak Brown as the CEO above the team principal, Andrea Stella. The Papaya team has risen in the last couple of years from the back of the grid to now being the Drivers and Constructors' championship leaders.

F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna - Practice - Source: Getty

McLaren also won the 2024 Constructors' championship trophy and beat Ferrari by 44 points. As per reports from the Italian media to RacingNews365, Scuderia's Chairman John Elkann and its CEO Benedetto Vigna were considering appointing a management role between them and Fred Vasseur.

Vasseur is the one directly reporting to Vigna and Elkann about the racing team, but will reportedly have an intermediary between them now. Just like McLaren, the new appointment will oversee the financial and political aspects of the team, while Fred Vasseur can gradually focus on the technical side and operations.

While McLaren has succeeded in recent times with the same management model, it will come with its worries. A greater hierarchy usually leads to slower decision-making and longer command chains. With the cultural aspects of Ferrari already being criticized for being stuck in its ways, it will possibly hinder operations further.

Vasseur's empowerment in decision-making will further be reduced as there might be a resistance to the changes that the Frenchman might want to make. Adding a senior management personnel above Vasseur will also increase the likelihood of conflict between the two.

While there are advantages to it, as seen in McLaren's case, worries cannot be neglected.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff defends Fred Vasseur amid the Ferrari exit rumors

While Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren have all won a race this season, Ferrari is the only top team without a win. Ahead of the Canadian GP, rumors circled the paddock that the next three races were crucial to Fred Vasseur's tenure at the team.

F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas - Practice - Source: Getty

Amid all this, Toto Wolff has defended the Ferrari team principal, as he said, via F1:

“Fred is one of the best racing managers that I know. If I wasn’t here, I would take Fred. So, I respect him a lot. He’s a great personality. He’s a straightforward guy. He doesn’t do politics and lies. He knows what he’s talking about. He just needs to be given the trust to run this.” “He should be given the confidence in running this team. They won’t get anybody better,” added Toto Wolff.

The Mercedes boss explained that it takes time to get a team into a winning cycle, just like Jean Todt took about eight years before winning a title with Ferrari. Similarly, Fred Vasseur also needed to be trusted and given the time.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam