Fred Vasseur’s “no-nonsense” approach praised ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari season

Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok has praised Frederic Vasseur for his “no-nonsense” approach and his calming influence on Ferrari as team principal.

Vasseur replaced Mattia Binotto as Ferrari team boss at the start of 2023.

Under the Frenchman, Ferrari’s strategic blunders have been less frequent, and organisational changes have had a positive impact.

As a result, Ferrari are in a good position to win both championships in 2025, provided their off-season development is strong.

Speaking on the Evo India podcast, Chandhok hailed Vasseur’s impact as team principal.

“He’s very experienced in the sport but also he’s a very no-nonsense character,” Chandhok said.

“He doesn’t get involved in the politics. He doesn’t get involved in all of the noise that can sometimes destabilise the team. I’ve known Fred for a very long time. What I like about him is that he’s very calm, very methodical. He doesn’t get overexcited.

“I remember I went to see him in Mexico after the race. They dominated. Sainz had absolutely dominated the race, cruised to victory and I was saying to him ‘the constructors’ is on, you can do it’ and he said ‘no, we’re not going to talk about it. We’re going to take about the debrief, talk about Brazil. We’re talking about the next race, one by one. That’s all I care about. Taking it as it happens’. He’s got a very, very pragmatic practical approach.”

Can Hamilton end Ferrari’s title drought

Hamilton’s arrival alongside Charles Leclerc for 2025 adds to the expectations at Ferrari.

Ferrari finished just 13 points behind McLaren in the race for the constructors’ title last year.

Given that Ferrari have the strongest driver line-up on paper, the constructors must be the main target.

Ferrari haven’t tasted title success since 2008, when they won the constructors’ championship with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.

Their last drivers’ champion is Raikkonen in 2007.