The Ferrari Fiasco: A Legacy of Handling Drivers with an Iron Fist

“Ask a child to draw a car, and they will draw a Ferrari.”

The name itself conjures images of roaring engines, passionate tiffs, and a legacy steeped in Formula 1 history. Yet, I believe that beneath the scarlet glamour lies a recurring narrative: a ruthlessly efficient, sometimes even cold-blooded approach to managing its drivers.

The recent revelation from Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has only added another to this well-established pattern. The admission that the decision to replace Carlos Sainz with Lewis Hamilton was made as early as Monaco 2023, while Ferrari continued contract negotiations with Sainz until the end of 2024, speaks volumes about the Scuderia’s operational style. Some believe that Vasseur used Sainz’ Singapore 2023 win to prove to Hamilton why Ferrari was the right choice.

Sainz himself has confessed to being “99% sure” his contract would be extended in the recent The Fast and Curious podcast, a sentiment that now appears to have been nurtured under false pretenses. Unfortunately, this incident is far from an isolated case. From the towering presence of Micheal Schumacher to the fleeting tenures of Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, and Fernando Alonso, I plan to highlight the annals of Ferrari’s driver management, and their favouritism shown towards their current star, Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari's Ruthless Decision-Making: A Question of Efficiency

Ferrari's approach to driver management is often lauded for its decisiveness. However, a closer examination reveals that this so-called "efficiency" is more accurately described as ruthlessness. The team consistently prioritizes its strategic objectives, often at the expense of its drivers' careers and morale. This cutthroat approach, while seemingly pragmatic, raises questions about its long-term effectiveness. True efficiency implies achieving better results with fewer resources. Ferrari's history suggests a pattern of discarding experienced drivers and starting anew, resulting in significant upheaval and often questionable returns. Their means are synonymous with their ruthlessness, and not their payoff, the end itself.

Carlos Sainz: A Deceptive Negotiation

The timeline of Ferrari’s pursuit of Hamilton and their subsequent handling of Sainz paints a picture of strategic manoeuvring executed with a distinct lack of transparency.

Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal, has revealed that initial talks began at the Monaco GP in 2023. He stated, “We both started talking about it at the Monaco GP 2023, on May 28, my birthday to be precise. I quickly realised that it could happen.”

He also said, "I knew that the desire was there on his side, that it had always been there in fact. It wasn’t possible on our side for 2024, because we had both our drivers under contract."

"Lewis had always had Ferrari in the back of his mind, and I thought the planets were aligning. For me, having Lewis with Charles was one more stone in the edifice."

When questioned about the strength of Ferrari’s driver partnerships, Vasseur also defended by stating, "I’d rather have two fast ones than **** ones" during a post-race interview.

Despite this, Ferrari engaged in continued negotiations with Sainz, fostering the belief that his tenure with the team would extend beyond the 2024 season. This prolonged negotiation, while seemingly standard procedure from the outside, took a different complexion given the pre-existing agreement with Hamilton.

Sainz’s own statements underscore the extent to which he believed his future lay with Ferrari. He admitted to feeling a profound shock upon learning he would be replaced, stating, “I was told that I was not going to continue with the team that I was 99% sure I was going to continue with going into that winter. It was a massive shock to my hopes and I obviously didn’t enjoy that moment.”

This level of certainty suggests that Ferrari’s communication during the negotiation process was not only positive, but actively led Sainz to anticipate a contract renewal.

Of course, the reasons behind Ferrari’s decision to keep the Hamilton deal under wraps are likely multifaceted. Announcing such a significant driver change mid-season could have potentially destabilised the team environment. It could also be that Hamilton himself was not sure whether he truly wanted to go to Ferrari or not after spending eleven years with Mercedes.

Vasseur acknowledged the delicate nature of informing Sainz about the decision, admitting, "'As you can imagine, it was not the easiest call of my life,' the Frenchman commented. 'One of the most difficult, [along] with the one with Toto [Wolff]!'"

This difficulty suggests an awareness within Ferrari of the impact this decision would have on Sainz. Regardless, the lack of upfront transparency with Sainz aligns with a historical pattern of Ferrari prioritising their strategic objectives over open communication with their drivers.

It is also worth noting that Sainz’s victory in Singapore 2023 was the only race that season not won by Red Bull, showcasing his exceptional ability and strategic prowess.

A History of Ruthless Dismissals

Scuderia Ferrari is filled with instances where drivers, even those who have achieved significant success or shown immense loyalty, have been cast aside with an almost clinical efficiency.

Sebastian Vettel (2015-2020): From Leader to Outcast

Sebastian Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015, and was immediately proclaimed as the driver who would finally bring the world championship back to Maranello.

The team built their project around the four-time world champion, and he was the focal point. As he should be.

However, the arrival of Charles Leclerc in 2019 marked a subtle but significant shift in the priorities of the team. While they did maintain a stance of equal opportunity for the drivers initially, they did begin to favour the younger, flourishing talent of Leclerc. This favouritism became blatantly evident in 2020.

Despite ongoing discussions, or at least the perception of it, Vettel was informed that his contract would not be renewed beyond the end of that season. What was surprising was Vettel’s revelation that he was never even presented with a formal offer. "'There was no sticking point,' said Vettel. 'It was obviously a surprise to me when I got the call from Mattia when he told me that there was no further intention for the team to continue. We never got into any discussions – there was never an offer on the table and therefore there was no sticking point'"

This abrupt end to Vettel’s Ferrari career left many questioning the team’s strategies of handling a driver who had invested five years in their chase for glory.

If this isn’t an obvious prioritisation of Leclerc as the team’s future, I don’t know what is.

Micheal Schumacher (1996-2006)

Schumacher’s era at Ferrari is synonymous with unparalleled success.

He transformed the struggling team into a dominant force, securing five consecutive drivers’ championships from 2000 to 2004. However, this was not enough for Schumacher to escape the pragmatic approach of the team.

By 2006, Ferrari made the decision to replace Schumacher with Kimi Räikkönen, despite still demonstrating competitive form.

Reports at the time suggested under President Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari was keen to secure Räikkönen for the future. While the official narrative states that Schumacher decided to retire on his own, hints emerged later that the decision might not have been completely his own. It was suggested by some that Schumacher felt he wasn’t given a genuine choice to stay. This essentially implies that Ferrari had already set their sights to Räikkönen.

This situation is strikingly similar to the departures of Vettel and now, Sainz.

Kimi Räikkönen (2007-2009, 2014-2018): The Disposable Champion

The last drivers’ championship was delivered to Ferrari by Kimi Räikkönen in 2007, and for that, he will always have a unique place in the history of Ferrari.

However, his two stints with the team were marked by examples of Ferrari’s unwavering focus on their “primary” driver. Despite having a contract in 2009, Räikkönen was dropped to make way for Fernando Alonso. Ferrari reportedly paid him a significant sum to terminate his contract early. Clearly, this decision was heavily influenced by commercial considerations.

He did return to Ferrari in 2014, but his role was largely that of a supportive teammate to Sebastian Vettel. In 2018, despite still performing at a competitive level, Räikkönen was informed mid-season that Charles Leclerc would be replacing him.

In true Kimi nature, he stated, "'This is what happened. It's not up to me and it's not my decision,' Raikkonen said. 'This is the outcome. At least we have an outcome'"  

The irony of Räikkönen winning Ferrari’s last race before his departure for Alfa Romeo emphasised his continued ability and made his replacement feel abrupt and ruthless.

Other Notable Cases

Fernando Alonso (2010-2014):

A two time world champion left Ferrari after five seasons, not because he was dismissed, but because he felt the team had no long term vision or the capability to provide him with a championship-winning car. The President of Ferrari at that time, Luca di Montezemolo acknowledged Fernando Alonso’s frustration, stating, "'Fernando is leaving [Ferrari] for two reasons,' Montezemolo said, 'One, because he wants to cement himself in another environment. And two, because he's at an age where he cannot wait to win again. He has been disappointed not to have won [a title] in these years and he needs a new stimulus'" While his departure was by “common consent”, it continues to highlight that even a driver of his caliber was forced to look for opportunities elsewhere due to a lack of progression in Ferrari’s cutthroat pursuit of success.  

Rubens Barrichello (2000-2005) 

Being a number two status to Micheal Schumacher is the clearest explanation of Barrichello’s time at Ferrari. He was often subjected to team orders that prioritised Schumacher’s title aspirations, despite playing a crucial role in Ferrari’s constructors’ championship successes. This explicit hierarchy demonstrated the team’s willingness to enforce a clear pecking order and ruthlessly utilise drivers for their goals.

Felipe Massa (2006-2013) 

Felipe Massa challenged for the world championship in 2008, and showed immense promise during his Ferrari career. However, after his serious injury in 2009, the team’s focus appeared to shift towards his new teammate, Fernando Alonso. Massa stayed with the team for several more seasons, but he never quite regained the same level of prominence or backing before his accident, showcasing the team’s willingness to move on quickly, even from drivers who have shown great potential, in the name of their cutthroat ambition.

Charles Leclerc: The Project of Ferrari

When Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019, he has been consistently positioned as Ferrari’s priority driver. Even when paired with the four time world champion Vettel, Leclerc was often given preferential treatment in crucial strategic decisions. This showed a clear long term strategy entered around the Monegasque driver. While Sainz demonstrated performance levels on par with or even surpassing Leclerc in certain seasons, he never managed to receive the same unwavering support from the team. This disparity in backing highlights Ferrari’s tendency to fully support a chosen lead driver, ruthlessly prioritizing their key project. Leclerc’s long term contract further solidifies his position as the cornerstone of Ferrari’s future ambitions. The multi-year commitment came with significant salary and potential clauses linked to team performance.

Ferrari’s history of driver management reveals a consistent pattern of treating drivers as expendable, with a chosen star taking precedence. The Scuderia has demonstrated a ruthless efficiency in pursuing its ambitions, no matter how ineffectual.

The arrival of seven time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, raises intriguing questions about the future of the team’s internal hierarchy. Will Hamilton be treated as an equal, or will the established favouritism towards Leclerc continue? One thing remains certain: in Ferrari, no driver’s seat is ever truly secure, regardless of past glories or current performance. Ferrari is willing to use drivers as means to an end, and they are able to make the difficult decisions without question. However, they almost always get it wrong. There’s no return to this, because their objectives don’t translate from hypothesis into reality. They end up looking like assholes or idiots - or both. But their teeming legacy often drowns out this incompetence. So it remains to be seen if throwing Hamilton into the mix is a well-taken gamble that brings in world championship mentality into the garage, or a poor one that has thrown out a driver, who despite lesser time on the grid has made big strides for the team in terms of development of the car, which Hamilton cannot bring into the team.