Ferrari paying Lewis 100m a year destroys the expectation that Leclerc is expected to beat him, especially in the fashion he's beating Lewis. Ferrari isn't particularly intelligent but even Ferrari doesn't enjoy paying 100 million a year to a driver and expect him to be beaten, that's just silly. Lewis was hired for following reasons: 1) reputation in F1 based on pre 2021 results with rose tinted glasses on 2) Reputation from racing with Vasseur in F3 (and considering some other drivers that Vasseur has worked with, it's no surprise he held Lewis in higher regard 3) undeniably a popular driver so the hat sales alone will pay largely, if not fully, for his contract. Add on top of that Elkann and his weird fashion stuff they'll get along swimmingly Especially with point 3 in consideration the hire was reasonably low risk. But better things could've been done, specifically keeping the very techy feedback Sainz that so far was no worse than Hamilton (if anything he's better at this point) and going on a hiring spree like Aston Martin is doing.
I don't believe Vasseur will ever lead a team to a world championship. He wasn't even impressive at Sauber/Alfa. At this point in the season, it is so painful that I have to wonder (hope?) they have all the resources pointed at the new car. My bet is Newey ends up producing the best car.
2026 is Vasseur's do or die. Right now he can say ''all our resourced are on 2026", and that car better be a very strong contender. If that car fails he's without a job. And the rotating door continues...
So much Sainz glazing, he was consistenly and comprehensively beaten by Leclerc and for all is "techy feed" Ferrari only got close to winning the Championship because McLaren were almost as bad operationally. I like Carlos but he was no Schumacher when it comes to leadership and development.
I didn't compare him to Michael. Things improved when Sainz was there. Things are worse now again and he's been out the loop of development for over a year already. Given his universal praise of anyone that worked with him before, a basic math sum indeed tells you that Sainz is pretty good in that department. Race craft was pretty good too. As was his reading the race. Does he have the outright pace to go for a title? Probably not. But a fantastic number 2.
Yah and the rotating door really is the problem. The resources and corporate commitment are there. It seems like a leadership issue to me. From my perspective, it keeps getting worse. That being said, they may have to do it again because I just think Fred is a loser. Look at how long it took Brown to get a handle on McLaren. Ferrari probably would have fired him after 2-3 seasons.
Things sometimes got worse when Sainz was there too, I don´t think there is a correlation. I think the time a driver played a crucial role in the development of the car are over. Now cars are too complex, too aero dependant (drivers have not a say at that) and the engineers have many more tools. Much of the setup work is done at the simulator, so even the slow learners can adapt.
Yes drivers arent the issue. Car is. Time is almost up to fix it with next year in the focus. I know I know its LH fault lol!
Well, unless you hire a really cheap one, drivers are outside the cost cap, so the salary of Hamilton, as overpaid as he could be, doesn´t really affect the rest of the team. And I suppose that Leclerc can understand that someone who already has been champion could earn more than him.
It doesn't affect cost cap no, but it shows where Ferrari is at with their heads. Rather sell hats to former "mercedes fans" than improving the team.
I think Ferrari has plenty of resources to do both. They’re failing at car development - of that there is no doubt. But I don’t think the LH and marketing focus and spend is necessarily a cause.
It's a no brainer: 1) Hire Lewis Hamilton to sell merchandise? (short term) 2) Hire Newey and acquiesce to his demands? (long term)
I am not saying that Vasseur is fantastic as principal, but he isn't an engineer. So why should he be responsible for the failure of the technical team to design competitive cars? Just because regularly Maranello needs a scapegoat ?
It's not a cause for the most part, but it hinders Ferrari's long term IMO. Lewis is not long for this sport anymore. Presumably, when you spend 100m a season on a driver you'll want build a car he wants. Even at Mercedes he utterly failed to get the team to go in the right direction with the rule reset, and that was an enormous team where everyone knew what he wanted. What makes Ferrari think he can do it at Ferrari?! And even if Lewis was quick enough...all we'd have was see Lewis and Leclerc take points of each other and see someone else sneak the title away from them. It. Never. Made. Sense. The Leclerc/Sainz lineup was pretty damn close to perfection.
Unless Vasseur recruited the Chief Technical Officer and the Chief Designer, he can't be responsible for the car lack of performance, IMO.
