Ferrari announced the extension of team principal Fred Vasseur’s contract on Thursday morning, and David Croft has offered his verdict on whether the Frenchman can deliver a championship to the team.
Having taken over from Mattia Binotto as the head of Ferrari in 2023, Fred Vasseur almost led the team to constructors’ championship glory last season, narrowly missing out to McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton also credits Vasseur as the reason he currently races for Ferrari, and is sure that he is the man to lead the team to the top. Hamilton announced his move from Mercedes to Ferrari before the beginning of the 2024 season.
Ferrari fans are delighted about Vasseur’s extension, with one fan noting the team’s need for stability as the sport heads into its new era with the 2026 F1 regulation overhaul.
READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know
David Croft isn’t ‘hearing anything’ from Ferrari that signifies Fred Vasseur will bring success to the team
Speaking on Sky Sports News on Thursday morning (31/07 9:13am), Craig Slater posed a question to David Croft regarding whether he thinks Vasseur will be able to bring success to the Prancing Horse in the coming years.
Croft bluntly replied, “No. And I don’t mean that in a nasty, negative way. No, I don’t think he will because I don’t think I’m hearing anything in terms of next season from the engine side of Ferrari that makes me feel they’ve got the best engine.
“And next year is an engine formula, it’s a fuel formula. So, however good Fred Vasseur is, unless he could design a championship-winning fuel and a championship-winning engine, he’s not going to deliver that championship.”
The verdict doesn’t bode well for the Tifosi, who have been waiting to see a driver in Ferrari colours take home the drivers’ championship since Kimi Raikkonen’s feat in 2007.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Ferrari announced Fred Vasseur’s contract extension ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix
In Ferrari’s official statement regarding the Frenchman’s new deal, they didn’t specify the length of his extension but alluded to the fact that it is a ‘multi-year’ agreement.
The statement highlighted Vasseur’s ‘ambition’ to return Ferrari to its former glory, also stating that the new deal ‘reflects our determination to build on the foundations laid so far.’
YearWinsPodiumsPole PositionsPointsRank202319740632024522465222025*0*5*0*248*2*Fred Vasseur’s record as team principal at Ferrari
We’re yet to receive any concrete evidence on where any of the F1 teams will be in the pecking order next season. There are talks of Red Bull and Audi starting the year off on the wrong foot, but for Ferrari, their engine remains a mystery to personnel within the F1 paddock.
Mercedes are rumoured to have an ‘advantage’ at the moment, but it has been reported that Ferrari have an ‘extreme’ solution to counter the German team’s development.