Frederic Vasseur will succeed Mattia Binotto as Ferrari's new head of Formula One, the company has announced.
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Vasseur, 54, joins Ferrari after five years with Sauber, which earlier today announced the Frenchman’s departure. Binotto, who was in head of Ferrari’s F1 operations until the end of last month, will be replaced by Vasseur. Starting on January 9, he will have the official titles of team principal and general manager. Vasseur declared, “I am really thrilled and honoured to take over the leadership of Scuderia Ferrari as team principal. Ferrari has always stood for the absolute apex of the racing world to me as someone who has had a lifelong interest for motorsport. “I look forward to working with the gifted and really committed staff in Maranello to honour the history and heritage of the Scuderia and deliver for our Tifosi around the world,” said the driver.
Benedetto Vigna, CEO of Ferrari, continued, “We are pleased to welcome Fred Vasseur to Ferrari as our team principal. “He has consistently been able to bring out the best in his drivers and teams, combining his technical expertise as a professional engineer with success throughout his career. We require this strategy and his leadership if we are to move Ferrari ahead with newfound vigour.”
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Prior to the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi, reports that Binotto would be leaving the team and Vasseur taking charge initially surfaced out of Italy. Vasseur’s hiring coincides with Ferrari’s efforts to break its F1 championship drought, which dates back to 2008, after their early season challenge to Red Bull finally lost steam in the second half of the year. Vasseur’s extensive history in motorsport, which included co-founding the ART Grand Prix junior squad that aided Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Nico Rosberg in their ascent to the top, will be advantageous for Ferrari.
We’ve had a solid working relationship since since Fred first supported me in the junior categories, according to Leclerc. “But aside from that, it stands to reason that none of the choices should be affected by this. He has always been quite direct and sincere. And Fred did something here that I found admirable.” Vasseur helped the Sauber team, which has been competing under the Alfa Romeo moniker since 2019, recover during his tenure there following years of financial hardship and adversity. The team placed sixth in the standings this year, which was its best constructors’ result in ten years. It also signed a deal to become Audi’s works F1 team when the automaker joins the grid in 2026.
