Fred Vasseur did something Michael Schumacher’s boss would never have done at Austrian Grand Prix

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Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur tried to keep the team grounded after Lewis Hamilton won in Barcelona, and their performance in Austria shows exactly why.

Two weeks on from a mighty victory that sparked title talk, Hamilton finished fifth at the Red Bull Ring, over 25 seconds behind race-winning Mercedes driver George Russell.

A fortnight ago, Vasseur warned Ferrari against the ‘huge mistake’ of thinking they were champions-in-waiting, particularly when they still have clear weaknesses.

What went wrong for Ferrari at the Austrian Grand Prix?

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Fred Vasseur’s laughter after Mercedes qualifying controversy raises questions

Ferrari looked like they were firmly in victory contention when Charles Leclerc and Hamilton qualified second and third on Saturday.

On one level, it was a misleading result because Max Verstappen crashed and Kimi Antonelli backed out of his lap, but on another, Leclerc would have been on pole if the marshals had shown double yellow flags as expected.

Instead, George Russell encountered single yellows and only lifted slightly, which meant he was able to dislodge Leclerc at the last. It was a controversial result, potentially stemming from a trackside error.

After qualifying, Vasseur said the ‘coin always lands in Mercedes’ favour, but as noted by Top Speed, he laughed shortly after making the remark to Sky Italia.

And in a separate interview with F1TV, he quipped: “Even when they slow down, they are faster than us!”

Vasseur’s jocular demeanour makes him a popular figure within F1 and clearly inside Ferrari too. He has forged close relationships with both of his drivers, particularly Hamilton.

But the risk is that he won’t be ‘taken seriously’ when he tries to take ‘a tough stance against title opponents’. Indeed, there’s a reason that Jean Todt, the great Ferrari team boss who won five championships with Michael Schumacher, had a colder manner.

One can’t imagine Todt delivering such a light-hearted response after seeing Ferrari lose pole in that manner.

In reality, there was very little Vasseur could have done to change the result given that the stewards didn’t investigate Russell. Rather than driver wrongdoing, it was perhaps a case of mismanagement from the FIA and race control.

But this was an opportunity for Vasseur to exert pressure and create a powerful narrative that FIA oversights were helping Mercedes.

Off camera, Mercedes’ rear diffuser design was banned after Ferrari raised questions. This proves that the team know how to play the political game, but the optics of Vasseur’s post-qualifying interviews were all wrong.

This was about perception as much as anything else. To become a truly great team principal, Vasseur needs to embrace the uglier side of his role and fight for his team.