Ferrari Formula 1 boss Frederic Vasseur contends that the team isn’t reliant on drivers to attract engineers amid Lewis Hamilton’s highly-anticipated arrival in 2025.
Ferrari announced earlier this month the bombshell news that Hamilton will move to the team from Mercedes at the start of next year in place of the incumbent Carlos Sainz.
It has been touted that the arrival of the sport’s most successful driver will entice more individuals to be interested in making the potential switch across to Maranello.
Prior to signing Hamilton, Ferrari had been successful in prizing a vital cog in Mercedes’ previous record success with the addition of the team’s Performance Director Loic Serra.
Vasseur has been intent on bolstering the Italian marque’s technical division since he was appointed in late 2022 and Hamilton’s presence could inspire even further recruits.
However, Vasseur believes that the allure of representing F1’s most celebrated outfit already provides enough of an incentive to become a part of Ferrari’s revival project.
“The line-up is part of the equation for sure. But also the team and the Scuderia and iconic brand is part of this,” he replied when asked about the appeal of the drivers.
“We’re building up something. And the question of the drivers, is a question of recruitment for the project, you can’t deny this, but for sure it’s a long-term, mid-term project that we have structures based on drivers.
“I think Ferrari is also very happy within itself.”
Reports in the Italian media have repeated that Hamilton is interested in taking long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington, often referred to as ‘Bono’, with him to Ferrari.
It has been common practice in F1 for drivers moving teams to desire to have familiar faces make the transition with them to help them adapt to a new environment.
Ferrari permitted this when Michael Schumacher came from Benetton in 1996 and Technical Director Ross Brawn and Chief Designer Rory Byrne also followed suit.
That trio, along with Jean Todt, would form an unstoppable operation that dominated F1 between 1999 and 2004 with six Constructors and five Drivers’ titles.
It has been speculated that Ferrari is incessant on replicating the error that occurred when Sebastian Vettel came from Red Bull in 2015 and arrived unaccompanied.
However, it has been divulged that the terms of Hamilton’s current Mercedes deal include a non-poaching clause which would prevent him from tempting people across to Ferrari.
While this would safeguard Mercedes from a mass exodus, it would not stop individuals from opting to depart the operation and then agreeing a move to a rival team elsewhere.
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