Dec.18 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur says he isn’t sure why Ferrari has placed Mick Schumacher at rival Ferrari-powered team Haas for 2021 and beyond.
“Beats me,” the Alfa Romeo boss told Blick newspaper.
“Maybe it made more sense for Ferrari to take Mick to Haas and keep Giovanazzi with us for the stability of the team. But I don’t know,” he added.
What the situation does indicate is that Ferrari and Alfa Romeo may be moving further apart – just as Haas becomes obviously closer to the Maranello team.
For instance, Ferrari designer Simone Resta was at Alfa Romeo as recently as last year – but now he is following Schumacher to Haas.
“Sorry, that’s another very difficult question,” said Vasseur. “Sometimes there are strange things in life.”
Vasseur even admitted that it is possible Alfa Romeo will split with Ferrari completely in the near future.
“We are tied to Ferrari until the end of 2021,” he clarified. “Then we have to go over the books because the next contract should be from 2022 to 2026 with the new cars.”
When asked if that next deal will be with Ferrari, Vasseur answered: “You can never say that. It’s like a marriage – there is not a guarantee that you will stay with the same woman forever.
“In a partnership, you always have to consider that there are ups and downs, so we have to ask ourselves – what is the best deal?
“Until now, Ferrari has mainly been a solid partner.”
However, Ferrari struggled massively for engine performance in 2020, and Vasseur said: “That’s your interpretation, but I cannot disagree with you very much.
“Apart from reliability, we cannot be satisfied with our results, but this year must have been a total disaster for Ferrari,” he added.
Finally, Vasseur revealed that reserve driver Robert Kubica and title sponsor Orlen are staying put for 2021.
“They were satisfied with all of our activities in the most difficult year, which is great news,” he said. “We know that we have to improve in all areas, and if something comes from Ferrari, we can set our goals even higher.”