RacingJean Alesi has gone from calling Ferrari’s 2025 season “a catastrophe” to saying the team has shown up in 2026 with “a proper Ferrari car,” and he credits Fred Vasseur for the shift. In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, the former Ferrari driver said the Scuderia is now “on the right track” after the first three rounds and has looked like Mercedes’ closest challenger.
Alesi did not soften what he thought about last year. “At the end of the season, when they asked me how was the Ferrari season, I said ‘a catastrophe’,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. He added that the verdict still fit the facts at the time. “It was a catastrophe, but I didn't say anything wrong. I just talked about the fact. And I'm very pleased about now, the way they start the season, because they arrived with a proper Ferrari car. I'm very impressed,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in the same interview.
For Alesi, the change starts with Vasseur. “Fred, since day one, he is doing a super job,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. He said leading any Formula 1 team is hard, but Ferrari is harder still. “But in Ferrari, it's even another story. It's multiplied by 100 per cent,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in the same interview.
Alesi said Vasseur reorganized Ferrari and strengthened it in several areas. He also said modern F1 no longer turns on one standout figure alone. According to Alesi, Ferrari needed technical strength across the board and a team boss who could bring everything together. He said the pressure and criticism around Ferrari in 2025 upset that work. Vasseur was “very annoyed last year” because criticism of the team and of him “destroyed completely the balance of the team,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in the same interview.
That is why Alesi sees this start as more than a good opening spell. He said Ferrari’s form suggests it was worth “sacrificing part of last year's season for the sake of preparing for 2026,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. He said that over the first three rounds Ferrari has most often been the car nearest to Mercedes, even if it still is “a little bit lower than the Mercedes,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in the same interview.
Alesi also warned that the picture can still change over a 22-round season. “It's a long championship. It's all about the development of the car,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. He said McLaren remains a threat because it has “the same engine as Mercedes” and “won the championship last two years,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in the same interview. He also pointed to Red Bull’s ability to stay in the fight through Max Verstappen. “Also, don’t forget about Red Bull. The Red Bull, I mean, they have Max… and Max is Max!” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in the same interview.
He believes Ferrari has the drivers to make use of any further gains. Alesi defended Lewis Hamilton after the criticism that followed his difficult spell in 2025, saying the seven-time champion has already shown enough this year. “We saw in China, we saw in Melbourne that he’s there, you know,” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. He also made clear where Charles Leclerc stands in his view. “Charles is Charles. Charles is very high in the rating of the drivers, for me. Max and Charles are the top for me…” Alesi, former Ferrari driver, told RacingNews365 in the same interview.