As Ferrari prepares for its first home race of 2025 season this weekend at Imola, team principal Fred Vasseur faces mounting pressure to address the Scuderia’s lackluster performance year-to-date.
Despite Lewis Hamilton’s sprint race victory in China, the team’s only highlight in a challenging season, the Italian outfit languishes fourth in F1’s Constructors’ standings, a distant 152 points behind leaders McLaren.
On Friday, Vasseur staunchly defended technical director Loic Serra, who joined from Mercedes last October, refusing to pin the SF-25’s shortcomings on the experienced French engineer.
Instead, Vasseur emphasized the team’s collective responsibility and untapped potential, maintaining focus on development while dismissing calls to shift attention to the 2026 car.
The SF-25’s disappointing performance has sparked debate about Ferrari’s technical leadership, particularly targeting Serra, who replaced Enrico Cardile, now on gardening leave before joining Aston Martin.
But Vasseur was quick to clarify Serra’s limited input in Ferrari’s current contender.
Ferrari technical director chassis, Loic Serra.
“When Loic arrived in Maranello six months ago, the current car was already, let’s say, 90 percent defined,” he explained.
“Then, of course, it depends on individual elements, but the key decisions behind the project had already been made. I mean the weight distribution, the wheelbase, the general concept, and so on.
“This is something that affects all teams when there’s a change in technical leadership.”
Serra therefore inherited a car largely shaped by Cardile, leaving the SF-25 without a single “father” in terms of technical direction.
Vasseur’s comments underscore that the project’s foundational decisions predate Serra’s arrival, deflecting blame from the new technical director.
Despite the SF-25’s struggles, Vasseur remains optimistic about Ferrari’s engineering core.
“On the other hand, 95% of the team is the same as the one that worked on the 2023, 2024 and 2025 projects,” he noted.
“I’m convinced that just because a project has problems doesn’t mean the structure isn’t working.”
Vasseur nevertheless acknowledges missteps.
“We’ve made some mistakes with the car, but we know where to improve. As for this year, we’ve probably made some mistakes with the car. We need to do a better job, but the motivation is there and the mindset is there.
“I’m sure we just need to keep growing [as well as] identifying and solving problems.”
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Vasseur rejects abandoning the SF-25, believing there’s untapped potential.
“We often end race weekends with the feeling that we haven’t extracted the maximum from the car. As long as we have that feeling, I can’t say I know the exact potential of the project.
“That’s why I believe there are still signs there is room for improvement.”
With major upgrades planned for Spain, Vasseur’s focus is on maximizing the current car while maintaining faith in his team’s structure.
“It’s basically the same as it’s been for three years,” signaling continuity and resilience amid Ferrari’s challenges.
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