Passionate, decisive, jovial... what can we expect with Frédéric Vasseur as the new director of Ferrari?
To discover
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A successful young enthusiast
Frédéric Vasseur was attracted to motor sports from an early age and studied at the Ecole Supérieure des Techniques Aeronautiques et de Construction Automobile (ESTACA).
At the age of 28, in 1996, he founded his first team, ASM, with Renault as a partner, to compete in French Formula 3.
Success was not long in coming with a championship title in 1998 with Belgian driver David Saelens.
The Frenchman will continue his meteoric rise in Formula 3 Euroseries by winning the championship four times in a row, from 2004 to 2007, this time with Mercedes-Benz as a partner.
He will take a step by joining forces with Nicolas Todt, son of the legendary boss of Scuderia Ferrari Jean Todt, with the aim of creating the ART Grand Prix team and participating in the Formula 2 championship. paying since the team will win the championship during their first two years and remain in a good dynamic for several years (vice-champion 2007, winner 2009).
F1 then seems to be the next step for Frédéric Vasseur.
Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix - Monza - 12.09.2010 - Frederique Vasseur and Nicolas Todt (PatronGP2 ART) Bernard Asset / Panoramic
Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Romain Grosjean... A talent scout
If Vasseur is a respected and recognized director, it is partly thanks to his ability to unearth young talent.
In 2006, the French will trust Nico Rosberg, future F1 world champion (in 2016).
The latter will bring the driver's title and that of the constructor of F2, a performance which will open the doors to Williams in the elite, before a certain Lewis Hamilton does the same the following year.
Moreover, the seven-time world champion remembers his former boss well:
“My first memory of Fred is him on the Villeneuve-la-Guyard station platform
(headquarters of ART in Yonne)
.
I arrived from England to find out if I would sign with him in F3.
I was barely seventeen and he, the boss, was waiting to take me back to the factory.
We entered the offices and he stuck me in the legs of the engineers.
Fred directs and his guys spin.
»
In 2009, Nico Hülkenberg will bring back two new titles to the French team.
Whether it's Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hülkenberg, Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado or Jules Bianchi, they can thank the one who launched them, the new director of Ferrari Frédéric Vasseur.
The misadventure at Renault
Given his many successes, the path to Formula 1 is clear for Frédéric Vasseur.
Indeed, the 48-year-old man at the time will be called by Renault who wishes to return to the elite.
But the adventure will not go as planned and he will experience his first big failure.
For its return to Formula 1, Renault is aiming big and is relying on a driver duo made up of Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen.
Frédéric Vasseur (FRA), Director of Renault Sport F1 Team Racing Motorsport Images / Panoramic
After several disappointing races in the first season, Vasseur, as usual, decided to take matters into his own hands and tried to bring back one of his former drivers, Nico Hülkenberg.
Despite the signature of his darling, Vasseur does not appreciate sharing decisions with someone else, namely Cyril Abiteboul.
Accustomed to managing alone, he left the team even before the start of the season.
He will admit that it was one of the hardest moments to live.
The great adventure with Sauber and Charles Leclerc
After a year of rest, Vasseur was contacted by Sauber and joined the team, in great difficulty.
Its objective is simple, to rectify the situation.
He managed to get the team to sign a partnership linking the Swiss team very closely to Ferrari.
Then comes the arrival of Alfa Romeo which allows the team to benefit from a Ferrari engine but above all to see the arrival of the prodigy Charles Leclerc.
As usual, Vasseur will transform the Monegasque nugget into a potential world champion.
But for that, Charles Leclerc will logically commit to Ferrari.
Vasseur will bounce back and bring back other talents such as Antonio Giovinazzi, Kimi Räikkönen or more recently Guanyu Zhou.
The objective set by Alfa Roméo is more than successful for Vasseur.
The team has regained its status as a strong midfield team and is now associated with Ferrari, a beneficial alliance for the two Italian manufacturers.
Charles Leclerc, Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team driver and Frédéric Vasseur, Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team director in 2018. Motorsport Images / Panoramic
A man appreciated by the paddock
If Frédéric Vasseur seems to be professionally irreproachable, on the human side, it is the same observation.
The 54-year-old is recognized for his unifying and jovial spirit within the paddock.
Each person, driver or team that he frequented keeps a good image of him as evidenced by this farewell message from his last team.
“
Thank you, Fred, and good luck
”, was it written in a press release welcoming “
the last chapter of a personal and professional journey of growth, both for the team and for the man
”.
Alfa Romeo recalled that this journey ended with "
its best result in the Formula 1 constructors' standings for a decade with a sixth place in the 2022 season
".