Pressure fear for Fred Vasseur as Ferrari Tifosi flock to see Lewis Hamilton
It has been suggested that Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur is feeling the heat amid his team's ongoing struggles in F1 2025.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur will be feeling the pressure amid his team’s lacklustre start to the 2025 F1 season, it has been claimed.
That is the view of Sky Sports F1 pundit Bernie Collins, who has suggested that the Ferrari team principal will be feeling the heat after a hugely disappointing start to the new campaign.
After ending 2024 with the second-fastest car and narrowly missing out on the constructors’ world championship, hopes were high that Ferrari may emerge from the winter as McLaren’s nearest rivals and potentially challenge for world titles this year.
Lewis Hamilton’s blockbuster arrival from Mercedes only ramped up the excitement surrounding Ferrari but the seven-time world champion has struggled to adapt so far.
Ferrari have fallen 152 points back from reigning world champions McLaren after just six races this season and head into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - the first of two home races for the Scuderia this year - facing scrutiny.
“You do feel it [the pressure]. When he’s driving in and out every night, it will be lined with Ferrari fans,” Collins said of the pressure surrounding Vasseur and Ferrari at Imola.
“He will do more marketing, more talking to guests, more sponsors. That brings more expectation. People like us asking him how he will excel.
“We know what it means for the fans here. A good result here will carry bad results elsewhere because they will remember this.”
Ferrari once again appeared to be struggling for pace over one lap in Friday practice, with Hamilton ending FP2 only 11th fastest after being unhappy with the feel of his brakes.
Vasseur downplays radio rebuke from Hamilton
Ferrari made headlines for the wrong reasons in Miami last time out and faced criticism for their hesitation surrounding a team orders call as Charles Leclerc and Hamilton could only take seventh and eighth.
The team orders incident frustrated Hamilton who hit out at his team in a series of sassy and increasingly-agitated radio exchanges during the race.
Vasseur once again tried to downplay the situation ahead of this weekend’s grand prix.
“We spoke about it in Miami. It was clear,” he said. “He got upset. As long as we are able to have a discussion after.
“They [the drivers] are not happy sometimes with the result or the strategy or the balance of the car.”
Asked if Ferrari learned from the saga, Vasseur replied: “We don’t have to learn something. I took a decision – I think it was a good one – and then we explained the decision to the drivers.
“We checked the end and the chapter was closed. The chapter is still open for you, but not for me.”
Vasseur also addressed suggestions Ferrari are facing increased pressure given this weekend’s event takes place in front of their adoring Tifosi fans.
“We want to have the same approach this weekend as any other one because the motivation is always the same,” Vasseur insisted.
“But we can also see – even from the garage or from the factory – the tifosi in front of us, and the fact that they are all mega motivated, committed on Formula 1 and the project. And they can be sure that we will push until the end to get the best, to do the best.
“We are all convinced of this. It’s not absolutely an issue. You can feel it from the factory the week before, you already have a lot of people around the factory. It was like this all week. It was like this yesterday in the fan forum.
“Let’s take it as extra motivation and the positive side of this.”
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