Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur hailed as team on 'right track' for succcess

Former F1 driver Jean Alesi has backed Ferrari to improve its form going forward, insisting the team is on the “right track” to become a consistent contender at the front of the field.

In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, he declared that Fred Vasseur, who has been leading the Scuderia since 2023, deserves significant credit for the team finding the right direction. 

Since joining Ferrari, the 57-year-old team principal has faced countless criticisms, and in the final third of the 2025 season, the situation seemed worse than ever. 

There were serious issues with the car's competitiveness, the team made several poor decisions, and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton – signed by the Frenchman – was perhaps going through the worst period of his career. 

The Italian press and the tifosi grew increasingly vocal in their criticism of the team and management, and even Alesi, who always keeps a close eye on the Reds, voiced unusually harsh critiques at that time.

“At the beginning, I was suffering because I said that we found something,” Alesi exclusively told RacingNews365. 

“At the end of the season, when they asked me how was the Ferrari season, I said 'a catastrophe’. 

“It was a catastrophe, but I didn't say anything wrong. I just talked about the fact. And I'm very pleased about now, the way they start the season, because they arrived with a proper Ferrari car. I'm very impressed.”

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Ferrari criticism 'destroyed team balance'

Alesi believes that the strong start to the season and the current promising situation show that it was worth sacrificing part of last year's season for the sake of preparing for 2026. 

The Frenchman insists Vasseur has played a key role in this.

“Fred, since day one, he is doing a super job. To be a team principal must be, because I don't know how it is, but it must be something incredible, complex. But in Ferrari, it's even another story. It's multiplied by 100 per cent.”

Since taking office, Vasseur has reshaped Ferrari's structure, reorganising the team and strengthening it in several areas. 

Although Mercedes is the dominant force under the new regulations, based on the first three rounds of the season, Ferrari has most often been closest to them. 

One of the most visible signs of this new philosophy is the return of creativity to the technical side—among their innovative solutions, the most eye-catching is the 'Macarena' wing.

“I think it's a combination of everything,” Alesi said when asked about the technical shake-up at Ferrari.

“Right now, there is not a single person who can make a difference in an F1 structure. It's incredible. When I look at a current car, I say, ‘oh my goodness’. You need to have a huge technical expert in each sector. 

“Everyone has his own idea. It's very important to have a boss who makes everything together. That's why Vasseur was very annoyed last year, because for him, it was a tough, tough job to make everybody together. 

“There was a lot of criticism about the team, about him and it destroyed completely the balance of the team. Now it's only the start of the season, but it looks like Ferrari is on the right track.”

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Leclerc 'very high' in rating of drivers - Alesi

Alesi thinks Ferrari has good prospects, as the championship remains long even if it looks that the season is shortened by two races to 22 rounds. 

The Frenchman—who competed in 201 Grands Prix between 1989 and 2001 for Tyrrell, Ferrari, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, and Jordan—emphasises that performance in the development race will be the deciding factor.

“It's a long championship. It's all about the development of the car, because they present themselves with a good car,” he said.

“Better than most of the other cars, but a little bit lower than the Mercedes. But they have contenders like McLaren, who have the same engine as Mercedes, and they won the championship last two years. 

“So it's going to be a not-so-easy fight for the development. Also, don’t forget about Red Bull. The Red Bull, I mean, they have Max… and Max is Max!”

In the final third of the 2025 season, many questioned the motivation of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, but Alesi believes the Briton has shown so far this season that there are no issues. 

He considers the team's other driver, Charles Leclerc—along with Max Verstappen—to be the best in the current field, and therefore believes the 'Red' driver pairing is more than ready for a title fight.

“Yes, sure,” said Alesi, when asked if he still sees the fire in Hamilton.

“He won seven world titles. It's still okay for him to be part of the development of a big project, even though it’s difficult when a season is very long. It's tough to be always feeling good. 

“The Italian press, at one moment they criticised him, and that was not right, but again, we saw in China, we saw in Melbourne that he's there, you know. 

“Charles is Charles. Charles is very high in the rating of the drivers, for me. Max and Charles are the top for me…”