New Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur looking to take Ferrari back to the top

Frédéric Vasseur is officially the new team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, effective from 13 January 2023.  He’s taken the place of Mattia Binotto, who stepped down from the role in November 2022.

Ferrari's management had considered a number of notable replacements, including McLaren's Andreas Seidl (pictured) and Porsche's senior motorsport executive, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

"I am truly delighted and honoured to take over the leadership of Scuderia Ferrari as Team Principal. As someone who has always held a lifelong passion for motorsport, Ferrari has always represented the very pinnacle of the racing world to me," Vasseur said in an official statement posted on Ferrari's website. 

He continued: "I look forward to working with the talented and truly passionate team in Maranello to honour the history and heritage of the Scuderia and deliver for our Tifosi around the world."

Born in 1968, Frédéric Vasseur has a degree in aeronautics and engineering from the ESTACA Engineer School, the same private school that also trained Laurent Mekies, Ferrari’s sports director (pictured).

A few years ago, The Smart Traveler magazine asked him what was the connection between his studies and racing. This is Frédéric Vasseur's answer reported on Forbes Italia: “I had a photographic book in which Formula 1 cars were compared to fighter planes. It is striking how many similarities there are between the two industries and the technologies they employ."

Frédéric Vasseur has a lot of experience in the youth division, in which he was able to see how young drivers, now champions, including Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg (in the photo) developed.

He made his racing debut in 1996 when he founded the Asm Team together with Renault. And it was thanks to this team, that a very young Lewis Hamilton, was able to get noticed.

In 2012, Vasseur also founded Spark Racing Technology, the company that is the sole supplier of the chassis for the Formula E championship, a Formula 1-style competition with electric cars.

A crucial step that allowed Vasseur to pave the way towards Ferrari was undoubtedly the creation of the Art Grand Prix team together with Nicolas Todt, the son of Jean Todt, former managing director of Scuderia Ferrari and former president of the International Automobile Federation.

Nicolas Todt is also the manager of Charles Leclerc. Perhaps it was the strained relationship between Todt and Leclerc with Binotto, as reported in tabloids such as mirror.co.uk, that prompted the latter's resignation and the choice of Frédéric Vasseur as team principal of the Cavallino.

Since 2017 Vasseur has been Managing Director of Sauber Motorsport AG and Team Principal of the Sauber F1 Team, since 2022 Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN.

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said of the new arrival at the Scuderia: “During his career, he has successfully combined his technical strengths, thanks to his experience as an engineer, with a constant ability to stimulate the best in its drivers and teams. This approach and his leadership are what we need to grow Ferrari with renewed energy."

Formula 1 driver René Arnoux also weighed in on the new appointment and told Formula1.it website: "I want to be realistic: for Vasseur, I foresee a sort of year divided in two. The first part is mainly dedicated to trying to understand the Ferrari of Formula One and the second aimed at identifying the best ways to make the teamwork, starting to gradually put them into practice".

Entrepreneur and sports manager Flavio Briatore also praised Vasseur: "Vasseur is now at Ferrari and is a dear friend of mine. We hope he will do good for the team and for all of Formula 1", for Formula1.it reported.

Given his track record with engineering and noted ability to build relationships, Frédéric Vasseur undoubtedly has all the credentials to usher Scuderia Ferrari into a new and exciting era. We’ll have to wait and see what the 2023 season brings in March.