Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur stressed that the team’s response to adversity will define its recovery after a challenging Formula 1 campaign.
Ferrari emerged from last season facing uncomfortable questions. For the first time in years, the Scuderia failed to win a single F1 Grand Prix, dropping to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2025.
Expectations were high heading into the campaign, fuelled further by the arrival of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Instead, the year proved to be a difficult one for both team and drivers, coming away without a single victory, Hamilton’s Sprint win in China the only success.
Vasseur has now reflected on that challenging period, stressing that the most critical aspect was not the results themselves, but how the team responded to adversity.
“The season was difficult,” Vasseur told media including Motorsport Week.
“I think it’s a mathematical contestation, not a feeling. But the most important is the reaction.
“The most important is the energy that you are putting in to push the team again and again, to try to understand what the issues are and to fix them – and it’s details by details.”
Vasseur: Ferrari knew 2025 would ‘be difficult from the first quarter’
Ferrari made the strategic decision early in the season to divert significant resources towards its 2026 project, with a new car designed around the next major regulation overhaul.
That choice effectively capped development on the current package but was seen as essential for long-term competitiveness.
While Hamilton endured a demanding campaign, Vasseur was keen to underline the collective nature of Ferrari’s late-season improvements, which included a run of podium finishes.
“For sure, we knew that it would be difficult from the first quarter of the season.
“But at the end of the day, when we had podiums in a row one month ago, I think it’s the job of everybody.
“It’s not the job of one driver or one engineer. It’s the job of 1,500 people at the factory, from the two drivers, from all the engineers.”
Vasseur also dismissed any notion that Hamilton’s struggles detracted from the team’s recovery effort. Instead, he pointed to his contribution behind the scenes.
“Collectively, the reaction was good, and Lewis is part of the reaction, for sure.”
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