Vasseur made some interesting comments during the press event. It seems it was really his own decision to replace Xavi, while Leclerc says it was a team and Xavi decision. I can't see Vasseur doing it without consulting Leclerc.
https://scuderiafans.com/fred-vasseur-c ... 25-f1-car/
Part of the team is working on the upcoming updates we’ll see this season, another is already focused on next year’s car. We’ve already started on the 2025 car. Additionally, there’s ongoing work on the 2026 power unit, while for the chassis and aero, we can only hypothesize concepts since there are no regulations yet.
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Bryan joined the team long before I did! He has worked with Charles for a long time, and they have an excellent technical relationship with mutual respect. I believe Bryan’s transition from performance engineer to race engineer was a natural step, a progression we often see in many teams. We often fight on the edge of a hundredth of a second, and if you feel you can improve something, it’s always better to do it. I’m convinced that Bryan is very good; he has strong technical knowledge and track experience. Plus, he’s well integrated into the team, which will make the transition to his new role very smooth.
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Adrian has a remarkable track record; he is the most successful engineer in the paddock, but I have no comments on this. Honestly, I trust the people we have in our team. Regarding the future… we will know it in the future. I have confidence in our current team members. They are doing a good job. If we compare the potential we have today to a year ago, we’ve made a huge step forward. It’s not enough because Red Bull is still ahead, much less than last year but still ahead, so we must keep pushing.
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I don’t know what the media expects, so I can’t say if we will exceed or fall short of their predictions. Since the start of the season, there’s been a gap between us and Red Bull that ranges from zero to five-tenths, depending on the track and conditions. The upgrade can bring an improvement of less than five-tenths, so we might be ahead without the upgrade or behind with it.
We are developing the car, trying to shave off hundredths, but we must always remember that what happens on track, from setup to weekend conditions and driver performance, is more important than an update. It would be a mistake for me, the team, and the drivers to think that an update is everything. It will certainly help, as we’ve seen in recent races where we fought on the edge of hundredths or thousandths, and in these cases, an upgrade one-tenth faster can turn the weekend around. But we need to stay calm and not imagine that an update determines everything.
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I’ll preface this by saying I’m not in a hurry for the 2026 regulations, actually. If the FIA had already finalized everything today, probably two or three teams would be ready to set aside this season and the next to focus entirely on 2026, giving them a huge advantage.
Honestly, I pushed to delay the publication of the technical regulations to October, as during this time, we will still be focused on the final developments of this season and 2025. But we won’t be able to work on aerodynamics before January 1, and I think that’s a good thing because the real problem in terms of resources is aerodynamics. Then there will be those who decide to focus 100% on 2026 from January 1, foregoing upgrades on the 2025 car, but those are decisions that will vary from team to team.
