The new Ferrari plans make the Tifosi dream

“I am a Mercedes driver,” says the Formula 1 record world champion dutifully when he is asked in the paddock about his first “home game” for the Scuderia since the sensational change was announced. The Tifosi may have already acquired Hamilton, but there is still just over six months of contract between the English superstar and his debut for Ferrari.

The Frenchman Frederic Vasseur has been Ferrari team boss since January 2023 and is working on the renovation of the traditional racing team with an aggressive personnel policy. The commitment of Hamilton from next year is just the clearest signal that the Scuderia wants to get back to the top.

Lewis Hamilton will give Ferrari a boost according to team boss Fred Vasseur. © APA/afp / GABRIEL BOUYS

Vasseur described himself as “fresh blood in the system” in an interview offensive before the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix La Repubblica the mega transfer of the seven-time world champion. “He is someone who knows how to put pressure on the team to produce excellence. This will give us a big boost.”

Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 is still the last drivers' world champion in red, the last constructors' title dates back to 2008. At that time, Hamilton became world champion for the first time in a McLaren and the Ferrari team boss was still called Stefano Domenicali, who is now the boss of the entire racing series.

A total upheaval “We are still a young team. “It’s not just a question of age, but also of shared experience and shared victories,” Vasseur further explained the coup with Hamilton. “That means we’re still pretty green behind the ears. Bringing in someone with such a great background and experience will certainly have an impact.” It has to. The pressure is already immense. “He is someone who knows how to put pressure on the team to produce excellence.” Team boss Fred Vasseur about Hamilton Hamilton is not the last building block in Vasseur's Ferrari architecture. The Belgian Jerome d'Ambrosio, who will be Vasseur's right-hand man in the future, and the Frenchman Loic Serra, who will oversee chassis development, will also be coming from Mercedes on October 1st. “I'm trying to change the corporate culture so that we become a little more aggressive everywhere,” Vasseur explained his approach.

Team boss Fred Vasseur is completely turning Ferrari around. © APA/afp / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

This also includes replacing staff at short notice if necessary. In the middle of the season, Charles Leclerc gets a new race engineer in Bryan Bozzi, who replaces the hapless Xavi Marcos. It's a serious step considering how close the connection is between driver and race engineer.

“We often fight for fractions of a hundredth. If you have the feeling that you can improve something, it's good to do that," said Vasseur, once Hamilton's team boss in GP2 and Formula 3, explaining his decision. Formula 1 chroniclers noted that the last time such a sensitive change at Ferrari took place was in 2006 with Felipe Massa. Vasseur is serious.

The star designer should come Vasseur is far from finished with his renovation. The fact that his racing team has upgrades in Imola is almost a side note. There is still strong speculation that star designer Adrian Newey could also switch to Ferrari after his announced departure from industry leader Red Bull. According to the Daily Mail, the contract with the 65-year-old has already been signed.

“Adrian is a reference for the entire Formula 1 because he has experience and success,” said Vasseur about the Brit, who won a total of 12 constructors’ titles and 13 drivers’ titles with his designs. Newey himself recently admitted his regret that he never worked for Ferrari during his career. Hamilton then immediately told the mastermind that he thought his employment with the Italians was great. The renovation is underway.

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The new Ferrari plans make the Tifosi dream

The Italians don't want to believe it. Lewis Hamilton is already in Imola, but is still not wearing Ferrari red. A new era has long since begun for the racing team with the Cavallino Prancing Horse in its logo.

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