Out with the ‘spaghetti culture’, in with Adrian Newey? Fred Vasseur’s ‘UK’ agenda

Bidding farewell to technical director Enrico Cardile, rumours say to make room for Adrian Newey, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur is in a “UK” recruitment drive and it is partly thanks to Lewis Hamilton.

As the years tick on towards two decades since Ferrari last won a championship title, the Scuderia have blown hot and cold in F1’s ground-effect aerodynamic era.

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur is chasing ‘UK’ designers

Red Bull’s only challenger in 2022, they fell well short of the title with the race over by the summer break, while in 2023 it is fair to say no one but Red Bull factored.

This season, led by team boss Vasseur with Cardile as the team’s technical director, Ferrari seemed to have closed the gap only to drop the ball with their Spanish Grand Prix upgrades.

But failing to match Red Bull was the least of their problems with the Scuderia falling behind McLaren and more recently Mercedes in the on-track pecking order.

Scoring the least points of the four teams since Charles Leclerc’s Monaco GP victory, were it not for Ferrari’s two early-season wins they’d be fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

It has Vasseur notably seeking outside help for Ferrari’s development.

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The team once mocked by Niki Lauda for its “spaghetti culture” given the strong Italian influence within Ferrari, Vasseur is the first non-Italian team boss since his compatriot Jean Todt to lead Ferrari – Todt have famously been one-quarter of the Ferrari ‘Dream Team’ that included Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne.

Under Vasseur’s leadership Ferrari have said farewell to key Italian figures in Cardile, who is off to Aston Martin, and also Simone Resta and Enrico Sampo.

It is a notable change to former team boss Mattia Binotto’s leadership with the Italian focusing on people who grew up in Maranello as well as those brought into the Ferrari ranks as youngsters, as formu1a.uno points out.

But it’s one that could yet see Ferrari sign acclaimed F1 designer Adrian Newey.

The Englishman has been heavily linked to Ferrari, to the point a pre-agreement has been suggested after a secret meeting with a Ferrari representative at an airport.

Vasseur though, has been tight-lipped on the prospect of signing the 25-time championship-winning designer.

At least he was until a recent interview with the Financial Times where he gave the biggest clue yet as he admitted he is chasing “UK” designers.

“We have good people at Ferrari, but I want to reinforce,” said the Frenchman. “Most [F1 technicians] are in the UK. If you move from Mercedes in Brackley to Red Bull in Milton Keynes you keep the children at the same school, you keep the same house. From Friday to Monday, you can switch.

“Coming to Italy, it’s a different story. You have to move the family; it’s a change of life. The move of Lewis will help us.”

Newey, however, doesn’t need to worry about uprooting children as his are all out of school while it has been suggested, but not confirmed, his wife Amanda is keen on moving to Italia.

Hamilton is joining Ferrari next season and Vasseur reckons signing the seven-time World Champion shows the world, and UK designers, how serious Ferrari are in their quest to win a World title.

Could Newey follow Hamilton to Maranello? Watch this space…

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