Ferrari boss cites F1 icons in Jean Todt and Christian Horner as he pleads for patience

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has called for patience from fans and onlookers as he claimed that it takes time for a team to start winning. The Frenchman was linked with an exit from the Prancing Horse this season, as reports suggested that the senior management was thinking about a replacement.

This was big news during the F1 Canadian GP, where we ultimately had drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc coming out in support of Vasseur. Ultimately, the team ended up announcing an extension for the Frenchman.

Talking to the media after the F1 Hungarian GP, Fred Vasseur was quite clear in his approach, where he said that the focus needs to be on giving the team time to get things in order. He cited how Christian Horner and Jean Todt also had to spend years bringing the team together before it started winning.

Horner, on his part, became a Red Bull team boss in 2005, and it wasn't until 2010 that he got the first championship. Todt took over at Ferrari in 1994 and would only start winning championships in 1999. Talking to F1.com, Vasseur said,

"It's no secret that Ferrari wants to win the championship again, and we will do everything to achieve it. I think we've made a good step forward everywhere, but now we need a little more time to put everything together for the 2026 challenge. It's a good opportunity. I'm in the most exciting place: if you can win in F1, that's great, but winning with Ferrari is something very emotional.”

He added,

“It takes time in general, and it takes time at Ferrari too: if we look at the history of F1, Christian Horner at Red Bull and Jean Todt at Maranello are success stories, but they took several seasons,” he added. “It takes years to build a team and recruit the people you want to have with you, and then it takes time to work together. We want to be very agile in F1, but the reality is that we have a lot of inertia.”

We have a clear goal: Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur

Fred Vasseur almost won the constructors' title with Ferrari last season as well when the team took McLaren to the last race of the championship. Talking about the future and the goal in place, the Frenchman made it clear that the team is completely focused on taking the next step and winning. He said,

"We have a clear target, a clear goal. Everybody in the company is aligned on this project and pushing in the same direction, and this is probably the best feeling when you have a goal and that everybody is convinced that we can achieve it, we can go for it and that we are all pushing in the same direction."

The 2026 F1 season is a crucial one for the team because the power unit has to be a strong one. The horrors of the 2014 F1 season, when the power unit deficit decided the fate of the respective teams, is something that could potentially set the team back a few years.