Team principal Vasseur signs new Ferrari deal
Baku, August 1, AZERTAC
Frederic Vasseur has signed a new contract to continue as Ferrari team principal beyond the end of this year, BBC reported.
The 57-year-old Frenchman's deal was due to run out at the end of 2025, but he has agreed what the team have called a "multi-year contract for the coming Formula 1 seasons".
Vasseur joined the team at the start of 2023 on what was then a three-year deal.
Ferrari chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna said: "We want to recognise what has been built and commit to what still needs to be achieved.
"It reflects our trust in Fred's leadership - a trust rooted in shared ambition, mutual expectations and clear responsibility.
"We move forward with determination and focus, united in our pursuit of the level of performance Ferrari has to aim for."
Vasseur said: "I'm grateful for the trust Ferrari continues to place in me. This renewal is not just a confirmation - it's a challenge to keep progressing, to stay focused, and to deliver.
"Over the past 30 months we've laid strong foundations, and now we must build on them with consistency and determination.
"We know what's expected, and we're all fully committed to meeting those expectations and taking the next step forward together."
The move constitutes an expression of faith in Vasseur's leadership after the first hitch this year in progress under him.
Vasseur was appointed after Ferrari removed his predecessor Mattia Binotto, following a 2022 season which the team started as the fastest on the grid but saw their title challenge collapse through poor reliability, stuttering car development compared to rivals Red Bull and operational failings.
Bequeathed a difficult car at the start of 2023, Vasseur led a turnaround to the point that Ferrari were the only team to win a race other than Red Bull that season, with Carlos Sainz in Singapore.
Last year, after a slow start, they came on strong in the second part of the season and narrowly missed out on beating McLaren to the constructors' title.
It was McLaren's first such triumph since 1998; it would have been Ferrari's since 2008.
Vasseur was also instrumental in Ferrari signing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton over the winter of 2023-24 to join Charles Leclerc in their driver line-up starting from this season.
However, expecting to progress and fight for both titles in 2025, Ferrari have struggled this season.
Hamilton won the sprint race in China, the second race of the season, from pole position, but has scored no grand prix podium positions.
Leclerc has five, his best result a second place in Monaco.
Ferrari are second in the constructors' championship, 268 points behind McLaren and 28 ahead of Mercedes in third.
Leclerc and Hamilton are fifth and sixth in the drivers' championship, behind the leading drivers for the Red Bull and Mercedes teams, Max Verstappen and George Russell, both of whom have won at least one race.
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