Ferrari has been innovative this Formula 1 season, using clever design tricks. These include the ‘Macarena’ rear wing, the exhaust wing, and winglets on its halo.
While these ideas aren’t magic bullets, they highlight a shift in mindset at Ferrari under team boss Fred Vasseur. The team now seeks marginal gains in every area, something that has further thrived since the arrival of technical director Loic Serra in October 2024.
Vasseur’s Shock at Ferrari’s Conservatism
Vasseur said that the change of approach stands out for him, as he discovered that there was too much playing it safe before he arrived. He said it wasn’t necessarily a culture of fear, but staff were often playing it safe to avoid failure.
Vasseur said the gap that Ferrari had on every single topic shocked him when he joined. This was because staff didn’t want to be exposed.
He explained that staff would add a kilo more weight, half a litre more of fuel, open the sidepod more, or take one step more to be safe. Vasseur calculated that, when combined, this cost them two tenths.
Vasseur said there should be a margin, but that the team were too far away from the limit. He calculated that one tenth could have a major impact on the season. He stated that the average gap between Ferrari and the cars in front last year was three hundredths of a second.
Pushing for Innovation, Not Playing it Safe
Vasseur is pushing to convince everyone that they are all a performance contributor. He says this mindset is shared by Loic Serra.
Vasseur said he is pushing everyone to take things closer to the limit and be open to more extreme ideas. He wants them to deliver performance in areas that others have not thought of.
He said the message is to push everything and be open. He added that the team never blames someone if they propose something that does not work.
Vasseur added that there have already been some examples of this on the car and that more will come. He said that the team has this mindset and that they are pushing them to innovate, which is a great help.
Laptime is Still What Matters
Vasseur says that the success of the mindset at the team is not based on how much innovation is on his car compared to others. What matters is laptime.
He said not to overestimate what he said, explaining that sometimes innovation is visible, and sometimes it is not because you can only see the aero side.
Vasseur added that the target is not to innovate.