Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has shed a bit of light on why Ferrari’s efforts to lure Adrian Newey to Maranello were ultimately fruitless.
Despite being considered a frontrunner to secure Newey's services after the announcement of his departure from Red Bull, Ferrari ultimately lost out to Aston Martin.
The legendary designer is set to join the Team Silverstone on a reported multi-year contract worth an estimated $25 million a year, with a confirmation of the deal expected this week ahead of the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Last week, it was reported that Ferrari had abandoned its pursuit of Newey because it was reluctant to engage in a costly bidding war with Aston Martin.
While this may well have weighed on Ferrari’s decision to cool its talks with Newey, Vasseur has suggested that a fundamental difference between how the Italian team and the Briton viewed their collaboration was the root cause for the two parties’ failure to reach an agreement.
“Newey? There were discussions, yes,” Vasseur said in an interview with France’s L’Equipe. explained. “But probably his ideas were different from what I had in mind for him.”
Newey, whose career boasts an unmatched tally of 12 drivers’ championships and 13 constructors’ titles at Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull, was seen as a potential game-changer for Ferrari’s technical department.
Yet Vasseur, while acknowledging Newey’s prowess, hinted that the designer's vision might have been more aligned with complete creative control than Ferrari was prepared to offer. Despite the talks breaking down, Vasseur left the door open for future collaboration.
“Maybe one day we will find common ground,” he added. “But as I said, it is not an individual that changes the outcome of a team. The group is always stronger than the individual.”
While missing out on Newey might be considered a blow, Ferrari has made moves to strengthen its organization.
The Scuderia has hired former Mercedes performance director Loic Serra, who will take over as Ferrari's chassis technical director starting October 1.
"His strength is that we are talking about an experienced man who has spent a lot of time at the highest level," Vasseur said of Serra.
Ferrari is also bringing in from Mercedes Jerome d’Ambrosio as deputy team principal, further reinforcing the team’s leadership structure.
"For me it was important to have someone with his knowledge. In the racing world, he has been a driver, team principal, CEO," Vasseur remarked, underlining d’Ambrosio’s diverse experience.
These high-profile appointments come amid broader changes in the team, including the loss of Ferrari’s former chassis technical director, Enrico Cardile.
The Italian engineer, a key figure in Ferrari’s technical development, left the team in July and is set to join Aston Martin alongside Newey in 2025.
Vasseur acknowledged Cardile’s departure, noting his personal connection to the departing engineer: "I had a good relationship with him and, on a personal level, I miss him."
Ferrari’s overhaul coincides with the highly anticipated arrival of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who will join the team at the start of next year.
Hamilton’s switch from Mercedes is expected to reinvigorate Ferrari, and his reunion with both Serra and d’Ambrosio could create a synergy that pushes the team back to the top of the championship standings.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
