The 2024 chapter has come to a close at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, with Ferrari coming tantalisingly close to lifting the biggest trophy of the season under the leadership of Fred Vasseur after sixteen long years.
Heading into the season finale, the Italian outfit was trailing behind McLaren by 21 points. However, despite Carlos Sainz’s P2 finish and Charles Leclerc’s terrific charge from P19 to the podium, they lost the constructors’ championship by 14 points.
Speaking afterwards, Vasseur reflected on the 2024 season as a whole and the moments they lost ground to McLaren during the season. He also commented on their new car and the kind of mindset the team is developing before hitting the track next year. Furthermore, the Ferrari team boss shared his thoughts on his proudest moment of the season.
Summary of the 2024 season of Ferrari by Vasseur
When asked to summarise the season from Ferrari’s point of view, Vasseur responded, “Good one, but not enough.”
The Frenchman highlighted their progress since last season in key areas such as reliability, strategy, pit stops, and pure performance. Nonetheless, he admitted that it was frustrating to lose the title by a small margin and that he was reevaluating multiple scenarios where they lost 14 points during the season.
Commending the team for the step forward they have taken, the Ferrari team principal also proclaimed that they have to iron out the inconsistencies to challenge for the title in 2025.
“I think that if you compare with one year ago, it’s a huge step forward on every single KPI [key performance indicator]. Everything is great. And we did a good one in terms of pit stop strategy, reliability. We improved everywhere, even in terms of pure performance.
“It’s true that at the end 14 points are missing and if you are 80 or 100 points behind, you don’t feel the frustration. At least tonight I have tons of races in my mind where we lost 14 points this season.
“But it is like it is. McLaren also had some issues and it shows that we have to do a better job next year. But I’m also quite proud of the step that we did.”
Races where Ferrari underperformed and whether pace advantage was the deciding factor in title outcome
In terms of whether McLaren managed to pip the Scuderia for the title because of their superior pace over the course of the season, Vasseur replied, “No, but I don’t want to do the list.”
Nevertheless, the 56-year-old underscored their unexpectedly underwhelming performance in Canada. He also mentioned the Spain/Austria/Britain triple header, where they struggled to maximise their potential due to the side effects of the Barcelona upgrade package.
Lamenting Sainz’s crash in Baku while fighting for the final podium position, Vasseur further referred to the Singapore GP as a weekend where they failed to put their best foot forward in comparison to McLaren.
“I think on paper, Canada was a good one for us and we came back from Canada with about zero. That was a bit harsh. Then we had three or four races in a row with the upgrade when we struggled a little bit. This period I think we lost something like 80 or 90 points on McLaren.
“Then you had a tough weekend like Baku, even if we did a P2 with Charles [Leclerc]. But I think we were in a position to do a much better job than only P2. Then Singapore was a tough one with the two cars ninth and tenth in quali.”
Stating that his task was to minimise underperformance, the Ferrari team principal was, however, quick to point out that there were multiple occasions where McLaren also dropped the ball.
“I think we could expect much better. But this is true also for McLaren. If you have a look at things at McLaren, if you go through the season, you can find tons of points.
“My job is also to try to minimise these losses.”
Vasseur-Ferrari 2024 partnership bringing a new car project in 2025
With regard to the performance of their car this season, a journalist wanted Vasseur to share his thoughts on how optimistic he is about the potential of their 2025 car and whether there are areas they can still improve upon.
Dismissing that the overall development of the SF-24 will have any consequential impact on the car next year, Vasseur revealed that they are introducing a new car concept in 2025. Moreover, he elaborated that they are more optimistic this time around given the significant progress the Vasseur-Ferrari 2024 leadership has made in comparison to last year.
Additionally, the Frenchman commented that enduring and overcoming the tough moments together during the season made them stronger as a team.
“It’s not the performance of this car because next year it’s a new project.
“We’ll do a decent step forward and I’m quite pleased with the job done at the factory. What is giving me confidence is more the step that we did compared to one year ago.
“The capacity that we had to react in the tough moments of the season because it’s where you can see that the team is working as a team. When you are winning everybody is nice, everybody is a best friend. I would say that these kinds of weekends are quite easy to manage.
“It’s when you are in the tough moments that the reaction is important. We reacted each time very well. In June we came back as soon as possible with solutions. Everybody was pushing in the same direction.
“I’m quite pleased with the reaction of the drivers. We had a tough weekend in Vegas and they reacted very well. I think it’s why we were so performant this weekend.”
Mindset of Ferrari as an organisation and factors of motivation in 2025
When asked to elaborate on the main topics Ferrari has on their agenda for the 2025 F1 season, Vasseur clarified that they intend to focus on every single area that can help them generate more performance.
Emphasising how this sport thrives on improving by the smallest margins of hundredths of a second, the Frenchman also commented on the mindset of Ferrari as a whole. He proclaimed that he seeks to motivate all employees—regardless of their position—in order to extract the maximum potential from the team next year.
“Honestly, I don’t know because I think it would be a mistake to think that there is one thing. That if you want to do a good job, you have to be focused on every single pillar of the performance, on every single area.
“It means that we have to improve everywhere, but I don’t want to do the list. Because if I start to do the list, I think I don’t want to finger point someone or a group.
“I think in every single area and every single department of the company, we just have to do a better job. This is not a criticism, it’s just that it has to be the mindset of the team.
“We have to come each morning to try to do a better job than yesterday and to try to improve what we are doing. Hundredths of seconds by hundredths of seconds, but this mindset is the DNA of our sport. And if we don’t have it, we are dead.
“I will continue to push all the employees to be convinced that they are all a performance contributor, at every single level. And that in every single area we have to do a better job than in 2024.”
Proudest moment of the 2024 F1 season
The 56-year-old quipped that his proudest moment of the Vasseur-Ferrari 2024 journey was the post-race celebrations in Monaco when Leclerc pushed him into the harbour after securing his maiden win.
In a more honest response, Vasseur acknowledged that he is really satisfied with how they have bounced back from difficult moments throughout the season. He also remarked that developing a dynamic where they can rely on each other to move forward would help them perform better in the future.
“When I jumped into the water in Monaco.
“No, no, more seriously, I think it was the fact that we improved and that we were able to react in the tough moments.
“Because to have a good dynamic, a positive dynamic, to do good results, it’s one thing. But to react when you are in the shit, like we were in Spain and Austria, it’s quite important for the future of the team.
“It’s on this kind of reaction that we are building up the future, the trust that we can have [with] each other. And I think it was the most important step of the season.”
