'Ferrari and Vasseur signed pre-contract months ago'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
It is a matter of time before Ferrari comes out with the news that Frederic Vasseur is the new team boss, according to Formu1a.uno. The decision comes after the departure of Mattia Binotto, although the two sides have reportedly had an agreement for months.
With the arrival of Audi in Formula 1, Vasseur would have felt that his future no longer lies with Alfa Romeo. He, therefore decided to play ball with Ferrari, which was interested in his services. Contacts are said to have intensified around the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Vasseur and Ferrari reportedly signed a preliminary contract with each other at the end of the summer. It was then exclusively a matter of waiting to see whether Binotto would be fired or leave himself. Now that it is clear that the Italian is leaving the team, all signs would be green to appoint Vasseur.
Doubts about Vasseur at Elkann
According to the medium, there were behind-the-scenes discussions about bringing in Vasseur. For instance, John Elkann is said to have doubted his qualities. Elkann reportedly preferred a more prominent name and therefore started looking for other options.
When it became clear to him that Ferrari couldn't find a more suitable candidate, Elkann decided to agree to Vasseur. He is expected to get help from Laurent Mekies, who would not opt to leave and therefore remain loyal to Ferrari.