Frédéric Vasseur: “I do what I love with the two drivers I dreamed of having!”

Hello Fred, this 296 GTB is superb! The "British Green" is a nod to Hamilton ?

Pure coincidence, but that being said, a bit like Lewis during his first tests (January 22 in Fiorano. Ed.), I need the advice of a technical guy to get started, because there are always two or three little tricks to learn with these cars. (Laughs) I don't drive a Ferrari every day, it's primarily for fun. For my trips between Bologna where I live and Maranello, I have my Alfa Romeo Stelvio. It's also more convenient to get bread...

Where are you taking me?

In Castelvetro di Modena, a small village where I sometimes go to dinner. I rarely have time to treat myself to a break like today, and to enjoy both the beautiful countryside of Emilia-Romagna and the beautiful mechanics of Maranello.

Some enthusiasts came to motorsport because they were fanatics of the Prancing Horse. Is that your case?

I discovered racing through the karting. I was only thinking about that… Later, when I worked in Formula Renault, I only thought about Formula Renault, the same thing later in F3, in GP2, etc. I never projected myself into F1 or at Ferrari. I am very anchored in the present.

Was there a family playground? Was there much motorsport in the Vasseur household?

Absolutely not. The only connection was a friend of my father who raced in Supertourisme, Max Antichan. He sometimes took me with him to races, as an apprentice mechanic. I must have been about 12 years old. The first time, I remember that I had mounted the brake pads upside down. (Laughs) Afterwards, I started to do karting, without planning ahead, without imagining that I would do cars afterwards. The transition came when I was in preparatory class. On the circuits where I always accompanied Antichan, I now rubbed shoulders with the guys that