“No one guarantees you’ll stay with the same woman forever!” – Alfa Romeo F1 boss Frederic Vasseur is not ready to commit to Ferrari beyond 2021, choosing to keep his options open, instead.
Ferrari had a disastrous season, finishing a lowly sixth, with zero wins to show for. Their customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas disappointed too, finishing P8 and P9 overall. This has impacted Alfa Romeo’s plans with Ferrari, with team principal Frederic Vasseur hinting 2021 could be the last season of their partnership.
“We’re tied to Ferrari until the end of 2021. Then we’ll have to go over the books because the next contract should run from 2022 to 2026 because of the new cars.”
“It’s like with a marriage. No one guarantees you’ll stay with the same woman forever – like me!”
“You always have to take into account in a partnership that there will be ups and downs … So we have to ask ourselves: What’s the best deal? So far, Ferrari has mostly been a solid partner.”
Ferrari this year has been a disaster, says Alfa Romeo
After impressing last season, Alfa Romeo struggled to get into the points this time around. When asked if the poor Ferrari engine played a role in it, Vasseur was diplomatic but seemed to suggest in the affirmative. He also highlighted how Alfa Romeo was ahead of Ferrari multiple times in the second half of the season.
“That’s your interpretation, but I can’t really disagree with you. Let’s say that the team slid into the crisis 80 percent because of Ferrari. We certainly lost 0.3 to 0.4 seconds per lap to our rivals.”
“Just how big the Italians’ problems were was shown by the second half [of the season] when we were fighting against the factory team and even finished ahead of them in Abu Dhabi!”
“Except for reliability, we can’t be satisfied with the results – but for Ferrari this year must have been a disaster.”
Also read: Ferrari F1 Engine: Haas to continue with Ferrari engines despite Renault links
