Ferrari boss explains reason Mercedes can steal Red Bull staff easier than them

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Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur has suggested Mercedes and Red Bull have it easier than the Italian manufacturer in being able to poach talent from other teams. The Scuderia boss has endured a difficult start to his reign as team principal and the reality of trying to keep his team together, in addition to bringing in new hires, has proved difficult with their mega-rich rivals possessing the power to entice key employees to join them.

Vasseur has already been left short with the departure of David Sanchez, the former aerodynamic chief and a key member of Charles Leclerc’s team, after he resigned from his role.

Race director Laurent Mekies is also departing the team at the end of the season to take charge of AlphaTauri following Franz Tost’s exit from the Red Bull sister team.

Ferrari have been unsuccessful in trying to lure renowned figures such as Adrian Newey – the specialist engineer hailed as the genius behind Red Bull’s championship-winning cars – to their Maranello base. Meanwhile, UK-based giants Mercedes and Red Bull have been able to acquire new talent to make improvements to their teams.

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Even Aston Martin have tasted better success than Ferrari in assembling a new team, and Frenchman Vasseur has explained his thinking behind their difficulties to recruit new members for their organisation.

“It’s not the same situation,” Vasseur told Sky Sports F1. “You can move from Red Bull to Mercedes and keep the same house, keep the kids in the same school from the Friday to the Monday everything is perfect.

“If you want to come to Italy, it’s a different approach. We have to change the family environment and so on.”

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Despite their recent difficulties and winless run in both Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships stretches beyond 15 years, Vasseur is confident the Scuderia are heading in a positive direction with Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

And insists their tight-knit group of workers is more important than bringing in one talented individual.

“I think we have a good structure. We have to reinforce the team for sure and we are on this way. It’s not just about big names,” Vasseur added.

“In the big teams today, we are roughly 1,000 [employees] and I’m convinced the weight of the group is much more important than the weight of the individual.”

Ferrari are yet to win a race this season and the Italian manufacturer sit fourth in the Constructors’ standings – already 199 points behind Red Bull after a difficult start to the season.

Only Leclerc has managed to finish on the podium so far this season with a third place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, although Sainz’s consistent finishes in the top-eight put him in fifth in the Drivers’ standings, with the Monegasque Leclerc down in seventh.

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