Having joined Ferrari in January this year, Frederic Vasseur already has a ‘master plan’ to turn his team’s fortunes around. Vasseur’s tactics have a certain Jean Todt-like flair, as he intends to poach some of the biggest names from rival teams. Much like Todt’s Ferrari did back in the day, Vasseur’s team has identified individuals like Loic Serra and Pierre Wache as their immediate targets.
Ferrari has yet to produce a world-champion driver since 2007 and has failed to deliver a constructor’s championship-winning car since 2008. Thus, the team has tried bringing in various new faces to try and relive their glory days, but fate has not been kind to them.
Vasseur replaced Mattia Binotto, with hopes of guiding the Maranello-based outfit to success once again. The Frenchman is hyped to bring Ferrari back to its glory days, and given his plans for the future, he might deliver on the promise. With Vasseur, Leclerc, Serra, and Wache, Ferrari could assemble an F1 ‘dream team’, much like Michael Schumacher’s days of dominance.
Frederic Vasseur – the new age Jean Todt of Ferrari?
Back in its heyday, Ferrari used the tactics of Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher to become an unstoppable force in F1. Now, Vasseur intends on replicating their deeds in hopes of achieving similar results. His plan is simple – to poach some of the best minds in F1 and assemble a team that will be extremely difficult to beat.
With Charles Leclerc already in his arsenal, Vasseur wants to team up with Mercedes’ performance director Loic Serra and Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache. His plan is well underway, and has achieved 50% of its target. With Serra’s Mercedes contract running out at the end of the 2024 season, Ferrari is confident they can sign him, uniting the two Frenchmen who already spend hours talking to one another.
The second part of Vasseur’s plan relies heavily on Serra, who happens to be one of Wache’s closest friends. Per German F1 journalist Michael Schmidt who was speaking to Auto Motor Sport:
“I believe Loic Serra was chosen carefully. He is one of the best friends of Pierre Wache, the technical director of Red Bull. The two often spend hours together in the paddock, even though they are from rival teams. Both are heavy smokers and chat there. I’d love to listen in on what those two say to each other.”
Todt-Schumacher did what Vasseur-Leclerc aim to
After leaving Benetton at the start of 1996, Michael Schumacher had free rein to build a Ferrari team capable of winning championships. With the support of Jean Todt at the helm, the two began an aggressive recruitment process. Soon enough, they got what they wanted. Benetton’s technical director Ross Brawn and their chief designer Rory Byrne became Ferrari men. The quad was then able to achieve what no team had ever done: win six straight constructor’s championships and five straight driver’s titles.
Vasseur’s aggression has not only been aimed at restructuring, but he has also been critical of how Ferrari has followed the same structure for two years instead of improving. This ended up costing them, too, as McLaren was able to improve their performances while Ferrari still struggled.
A new look Ferrari team will be in effect with the start of the 2024 season. The team has reportedly binned their 2023 car concept, opting to design their 2024 challenger from scratch. With Project 676, Ferrari aims to turn a new page in history while hoping to get Serra and Wache on board for a new era in the team.
