Ferrari F1 boss outlines key to winning title, catching Red Bull

Ferrari has been stuck in a rut of poor strategic decisions and lackluster cars, leaving it unable to win a Driver's Championship since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

The Italian team has come close to the title, staying in contention until the final round with Fernando Alonso in 2010 and 2012.

With Frederic Vasseur at the helm, though, Formula 1's most successful team may be emerging as an outfit that could challenge Red Bull, which has dominated over the past couple of years.

The Frenchman took over from Mattia Binotto at the end of 2022 and has started assembling a team of people who excel in their fields. 

Charles Leclerc has signed a long-term contract and will be joined by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2025. There is also the possibility of legendary designer Adrian Newey joining the Italian team after leaving Red Bull.

Under Vasseur, Ferrari seems more settled. It does not make simple mistakes and delivers victories when Red Bull isn't at its best.

The Scuderia sits second in the Constructors' Championship, and Leclerc is Max Verstappen's closest challenger, although at a 48-point deficit.

Ferrari and McLaren have closed the gap to Red Bull, but Vasseur is eager to see how the season develops with 17 rounds.

"First, we did only seven races out of 24, which means there are still 17 to go," Vasseur said via formula1.com. "At this point of the season last year we were 100 points behind Aston Martin and we finished 100 points in front of them.

“It means that the end of the championship is never after race seven. It’s even more true this season, because the gap is very close. It’s not very often that you have six or potentially eight cars who could win a race."

The sharp end of the field has become so competitive that last time out in Imola, just two-tenths of a second separated the top four.

A non-finish could be costly with such fine margins, and Vasseur said that a DNF could open the door for Ferrari or McLaren to close the gap to Red Bull.

"Imagine that you have a crash, a DNF and so on, it’s a gamechanger in terms of the championship," Vasseur added.

“Honestly, I didn’t have a look on the classification and I don’t know exactly the delta of points, but I think if one team is doing a one-two, and the other is a DNF, McLaren can come back, or we can come back on Red Bull."