Taking the reins at Ferrari
The right opportunity finally materialised when Mattia Binotto resigned as Ferrari team principal at the end of the 2022 season. Despite tabloid gossip about high profile candidates such as Ross Brawn, Christian Horner, Seidl or even Jean Todt all being in the frame to be the next team boss, right from the start Vasseur was the front runner to take over. No one in the know was surprised when it was formally confirmed on December 13.
Vasseur is only the fourth non-Italian to take the position, and the second Frenchman - the other being Todt, who had reigned over the glorious Michael Schumacher era. Ferrari are expecting nothing less than a similar success under Vasseur and Leclerc, and their joint pedigree suggests that this is by no means a wild fantasy. It's certainly a huge task that they have ahead of them; but if anyone can pull it off then it's the quiet, unassuming Vasseur who seems to have a knack for finding success at every stage of his career.
Vasseur's first major challenge will be to simply survive the intense, unrelenting pressure that faces every new Ferrari principal at Maranello. He has the fulsome support of chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna, which should allow him the freedom to reshape the team that he has inherited from Binotto. But that could quickly change if he doesn't immediately start to deliver results, and the clock has already started counting down - even though he doesn't formally take over until January.
Vasseur will want to continue the progress Binotto made on improving Ferrari’s working environment and moving away from the unrelenting 'blame' culture that's hurt the Scuderia so badly in the past. But he will also have to find a way to tackle the string of strategic and operational mistakes made by the team in 2022 that cost them any chance of competing for the drivers and constructors titles against a dominant Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
Vasseur has been under pressure before, of course, and has always seemed to have the temperament ideally suited to shrugging off such concerns and just getting on the with the job. In the paddock he's often seen strolling past with a smile and wave, joking with people he meets and sauntering off as if he doesn't have a care in the world - while always remaining absolutely focussed on the task in hand. But he can also be quite cutting when he wants to be, a trait he will have to be wary of showing in his new role.
Vasseur lives for motorsport: "I don't want to go eat at the restaurant in the evening. I love what I do, it's an exceptional job". In his time away from the track, he is a very private man who gives little away about his personal life. He is understood to have married in 1999 and may have up to four children, but he does his best to keep them far away from the public spotlight. "In the winter months I try to be in the [Hörnli and Grat] mountains. I spend time with my wife and kids because I know what I'm putting them through," he offered.
That's unlikely to change even now he has ascended to one of the most high-profile jobs in world sport, which will make maintaining such a low-key style much harder. As Ferrari team principal he will have considerable clout in the sport, far more than when he was tucked out of the way at Sauber, and he will need to learn how to wield that power effectively while not overplaying his hand.
For all his experience, nothing can really prepare Vasseur (or anyone else, come to that) for exactly what he's about to face in the red hot crucible of F1's most enduring iconic team. But despite the downsides, the job is arguably the most coveted in the whole of global motorsport, and it's Vasseur who gets to take it on and show us what he can do in the role. It should be gripping to watch how it plays out in 2023.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
