The enemy is within: Why Ferrari's problem isn't getting rid of Fred Vasseur

"We've changed team bosses, we've changed drivers, we've changed practically everything, except for one thing." That was the enigmatic message dropped by Frederic Vasseur when asked how it was possible that Ferrari, having everything, had gone so many years without winning a world title. "Maybe it's because we're not asking the right questions," the Scuderia boss stated in the same cryptic tone. It's clear that things are looking bad for the Formula 1 team in Maranello .

It's obvious that Vasseur can't speak his mind . If he did, he'd be out on the street the next morning. But it's not a question of protecting his job, but of pure professional pragmatism. A personal vent isn't going to fix anything at the company that pays his salary, nor will it provide any benefit to the development of his work. Rather, what Vasseur wants to tell us between the lines is that what's preventing Ferrari from becoming a champion isn't its rivals, but itself . The enemy is within.

The contrast couldn't be more stark, yet disheartening. On the same weekend that Ferrari scored its third consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans against one of the toughest competitions in history, the Formula 1 team hit rock bottom : "This circuit has highlighted all the limitations of our car. I wish I could share what's happening so you can understand it better, but I can't." Hamilton, like Vasseur, has to bite his tongue and keep his mouth shut. Bad business.

It's quite a paradox, this fear of speaking out in a team that has historically been the target of more internal leaks . Anyone who's held a relatively senior position at Ferrari will admit that, barely leaving a meeting, they'd already see publications of what had been discussed. It sounds a bit sarcastic to be so cautious about saying the king has no clothes , when a plague of moles within the team is leaking sensitive information to the outside world.

Rumor, rumor...

When the shadow of the grim reaper looms over Maranello, it's more than just a rumor. The threat of Frederic Vasseur's dismissal is real , and the French engineer had better hope the Scuderia 's form turns around in a few races. In the year they were supposed to make a definitive assault on the title, instead of progressing, they've taken a step backward. Or rather, they haven't evolved at the same pace as their rivals. Antonello Colletta is rumoured to be his more than likely successor .

The initial reading is as simple as it is unrealistic: remove Vasseur , who has been stringing together failures for the last three seasons, and replace him with a homegrown man like Antonello Colletta, the architect of Ferrari's resounding success in the endurance world . Colletta was previously mentioned as a possible candidate to become the team's top boss in Formula 1, but he ruled himself out. The Italian engineer preferred to focus on a historic challenge for the Scuderia , winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans 50 years after his last triumph .

Colleta, with the help of AFCorse 's ultra-professional team, has clearly dominated all of his rivals under the new Hypercar regulations. And beware, because endurance racing is experiencing a new golden age with more brands involved than ever. There's Porsche, Toyota, Cadillac, BMW, Peugeot, Aston Martin, and Alpine . No joke. But anyone who thinks that Colletta, after his spectacular work in prototypes, would be capable of transferring his success to single-seaters is mistaken.

It's not a question of Antonello Colletta lacking the capacity to take on the challenge. He has it, and more than enough. The problem is that he would run into the same problems that caused the failures of Stefano Domenicali, Marco Mattiacci, Maurizio Arrivabene, Mattia Binotto, and Frederic Vasseur if he ends up being fired: the Ferrari idiosyncrasy. But how can it be that in one region they triumph overwhelmingly and in the other they fail repeatedly? Are we talking about the same company?

Work hard, talk little

The answer to the enigma, with a few nuances, is simple: on one side they let them work in peace (Hypercar), on the other (Formula 1) it's impossible to work with clear guidelines and without destructive interference . No sporting project can be successful without long-term stability. Not to mention in Formula 1 , where the slightest disruption to the production flow has dire consequences. It's impossible to work well amidst conspiracies, leaks, or ulterior motives.

Italians, when they work together and without distractions, are unbeatable. The problem they've had since Julius Caesar is getting distracted by internal conspiracies instead of by their external enemies, as Cicero masterfully described in Catilinarias. Translated to the present day, it would be something like saying: how long are you going to abuse the Cavallino 's patience? We are dangerously approaching the fateful date of 20 years without world titles , matching the previous dry spell from Scheckter (1979) to Schumacher (1999).

It's often said that Italians, to succeed, need to be led by a foreigner, but the facts show that this isn't necessarily the case. Ducati is sweeping the MotoGP field , and Ferrari itself is doing so at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with teams that couldn't be more Italian. It's a question of strong leadership, ensuring the project leader isn't overruled by company bosses, and ensuring the press keeps reporting and avoids confusion. In short, it's about working hard and talking little .

This mantra of Italy's inability to lead comes from the virtuous cycle in which Ferrari won five consecutive titles with Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, and Michael Schumacher . None of that triumvirate was Italian, it's true, but beyond nationalities, the basis of their strength lay in the fact that the three formed an untouchable trinity. If they attacked one, they attacked all three, and that built an insurmountable fortress , even for the company's president, Luca de Montezemolo .

The importance of leadership

Anyone who thinks Antonello Coletta would be allowed to work in the Formula 1 team with the peace of mind he has with the Hypercar project doesn't know Ferrari . Take the example of the driver lineup: in Hypercar, Coletta says he wants good drivers committed to the cause and doesn't need star drivers. In Formula 1, on the other hand, it was obvious that the last straw Ferrari needed to succeed wasn't in the driver department. However, they let go of Carlos Sainz with the signing of Lewis Hamilton , who smells much more like boss John Elkann than Frederic Vasseur .

At Ferrari, they've been going from one emergency to another since the 2007 world title , and they'll continue to do so until they accept that, without stability, it's impossible to win. And if they end up getting rid of Frederic Vasseur rather than Antonello Coletta, they'd be better off signing Luis Enrique . Perhaps that way, they'll finally learn the importance of strong leadership, as well as a solid and cohesive team where no one goes it alone.