Fred Vasseur reveals Audi concession that sealed Ferrari switch

Ferrari

Vasseur reveals Audi concession that sealed Ferrari switch

Vasseur made the switch from Sauber to Ferrari in the winter

Ewan Gale

Monday 6 February 2023 14:10

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed how Audi gave its blessing for his winter switch to Maranello.

Frenchman Vasseur has been tasked with turning around Ferrari's fortunes after the Scuderia slumped throughout the year last season, falling from early title favourites to a distant second - Charles Leclerc finishing 146 points adrift of eventual champion Max Verstappen.

The consistent strategic and reliability failures for the Italian outfit cost Mattia Binotto his role, his resignation being handed in after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix despite rumours regarding his position being denied in the weeks before.

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In switching to Ferrari, Vasseur has left an ongoing project with Sauber that will see Alfa Romeo leave at the end of the year ahead of the impending partnership with Audi from 2026.

Vasseur 'didn't share' news

Ciao from Gestione Sportiva 👋
Lots of hard work is going into our car launch. We can’t wait to show you, #Tifosi ❤️ pic.twitter.com/M6oNnGRqAG
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 6, 2023

Asked if the Ferrari post was too good to turn down in spite of the moves being made by Sauber under his tutelage, Vasseur replied: "When I had the call from Ferrari, I didn't share it with everybody in the world, it was my own discussion with John Elkann.

"I didn't share it at all with Audi before the announcement.

"I had a chat with someone from Audi and they told me you can't refuse an offer from Ferrari."