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Ferrari is expected to announce a new team principal very soon and it appears that current Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur is in pole position to take on that role.
Vasseur is not new to the role of team principal as he entered the sport in that role for Renault in 2016. For someone who has been involved in racing since 1996, he has climbed the ranks in motorsport slowly but steadily and is expected to continue on that path with an opportunity to join Ferrari.
Having said that, who is Frederic Vasseur and what is his journey? Let's take a look.
Who is Frederic Vasseur?
Vasseur was born on May 28th, 1968, in Draveil, Île-de-France, France, and holds French citizenship. He earned a degree in Aeronautical Techniques and Automotive Engineering from ESTACA in 1996, before moving to the world of motorsports. He is married, however, nothing much is known about his wife and family. Some reports state that he got married on May 31st, 1999, and has four children. According to other reports, Vasseur is believed to be drawing an annual salary of $1 million and has a net worth of $3 million.
Frederic Vasseur's career and journey in motorsport
Vasseur's racing career started in 1996 when he founded his own Formula 3 team named ASM. The team saw distinguished success as it won the 1998 French Formula 3 championship with David Saelens, and then the Formula 3 Euroseries championships with Jamie Green, Lewis Hamilton, Paul di Resta, and Romain Grosjean, from 2004 to 2007.
Vasseur, in partnership with Nicholas Todt, co-founded the ART racing team in 2004, which took drivers like Lewis Hamilton (2006) and Nico Rosberg (2005) to GP2 titles before they graduated to F1.
Vasseur's foray into F1 began in 2016 with Renault as the team principal. He was instrumental in snatching Nico Hulkenberg away from Force India as the German had been mentored by Fred earlier in his junior career.
Vasseur left Renault for Alfa Romeo at the end of the 2016 F1 season and has been there ever since. According to reports, a move to Ferrari now seems imminent for him.
What impact can Vasseur have at Ferrari?
Fred Vasseur is one of the most respected names in the paddock and it has to do with his history of success in racing. The man knows how to win a championship and has shown his leadership brilliance at different points in his career.
With Mattia Binotto at the helm, Ferrari did not truly have a figure at the top that could go toe-to-toe with the might of Toto Wolff and Christian Horner. With Vasseur, the team could now have someone it can look up to; someone who comes from a background of winning.
Ferrari needed better operational acumen after what it has been through this season. The team appears to have placed faith in Fred Vasseur and he could be the one to give drivers like Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz a better opportunity than what Binotto did.
