Outside Line: Ferrari solution is goodbye Fred Vasseur, hello Flavio Briatore

Ferrari celebrated the occasion at Monza with a special-edition livery for their great hero Michael Schumacher, who would have shuddered had he been aware of, or witnessed, the shenanigans that went on that day.

And, of course, as I've mentioned before in a previous Outside Line, under the radar was the leader, the boss, the chief, the Napoleon who was going to take Ferrari from Nowhereland to Championship Land.

Step up Fred Vasseur, missing in action when he needed to make a call for Charles Leclerc not to go to war with Lewis Hamilton in the past couple of races. Monza included.

Fred has been nowhere to be seen, apart from the usual nothing-to-see-here press releases and television interviews that suggest a guy out of touch with the reality of being the big boss at Maranello.

As far as I can see, there are no mega changes at Maranello since Vasseur arrived, in the manner in which, for instance, we saw 20 years ago when Jean Todt, a fellow Frenchman, arrived there to galvanise the team.

Yes, Jean Todt did so at a time when Ferrari had tried just about everything. They'd had Nigel Mansell, they'd had Alain Prost, and they just couldn't get it to work. But finally, despite Todt nearly getting fired and the whole Schumi era nearly imploding before it flourished, in 2000 the tide turned.

Over the next decade, Ferrari became twice as famous as it had been before, and it was already by far the most famous team in the world, so go figure.

Michael took it to another stratosphere, and that's why he is the all rolled into oine the King of F1, the Prince of Maranello, honorary Italian for his accomplishments in Red over nearly a decade, during which he scored five World Championships.

Now, coincidentally, like Fred, Jean Todt also a Frenchman worked there, running the Italian Job, but he had a very important, hands-on boss himself in Luca di Montezemolo, an Italian who knew just about everything there was to know about running Ferrari. And his people, of course.

Twice he did it, and twice he brought World Championships to Ferrari. Why? First of all, he was highly respected. He's like royalty in Italy. His accomplishments go far beyond Formula 1.

But in the sphere of our sport, during the last Ferrari heyday, he was the conduit between Todt and Schumacher and the staff at Ferrari, and that's a luxury Vasseur does not have, namely his Luca.

In John Elkann, he has a hands-off big boss because he seems and not much interested Formula 1. Off the top of my head, I had to Google who the current Ferrari CEO is because he is so anonymous. It's Benedetto Vigna, of course. Alas for the Tifosi, Benny and Johnny combined are not half the racing man Montezemolo was and is.

As it stands, there is no one above Vasseur protecting him, walking into the Maranello garages where they keep the cars, where the engineers work, listening to the chitter-chatter going on. Montezemolo picked it up.

Although Todt ran the Ferrari F1 team, Montezemolo had a finger on the pulse of everything that was going on at the factory, to the point that he was prepared to put his entire career and reputation on the line to save the Todt-Schumacher alliance he brought to Ferrari.

Montezemolo designed the template for a team that could hardly be beaten during that era. One great driver, one great dream, all working for the proven superstar. The second driver was just baggage that had to be useful for the main man when required, which was Schumi, and they just gobbled up titles, as history shows.

Fast-forward to now and you've got French Fred running the most political team in sport solo it seems, with no one really believing in him enough to be there at every race, which Elkann should be if he were to emulate Montezemolo.

As it stands right now, Vasseur appears to be the Ferrari's media spokesman. What he does, a media spokesman can do. Shield off criticism, ignore problems, move on like nothing's happening. As a leader he is proving to be an ineffective Obelix with no Asterix to urge him on and protect him when needed. And no magic poyion either.

I read and hear people say Christian Horner is the solution to Maranello troubles. Perhaps, but I doubt it. He's an Englishman. He's going to have the same problem that Vasseur has. Even if the latter speaks Italian, he is not Italian.

The language, the culture, the innuendos, the nuances, you only pick those up if you're a local. I take my own example of management of large multi-national photo teams. If I had to choose between managing 20 South Africans or 20 Italians, believe me, I'll take 20 South Africans, naturally it would be much easier.

I'm plugged into the way Saffers behave, how they think, their behind-your-back bullshit. You are aware. You know. Because I am one of them. With Italians, or any nationality for that matter, it would be impossible as a foreigner to be as effective.

I could probably manage 20 British guys, 20 Australians or 20 New Zealanders, but it would be a mission because I'm a South African and 20 of them are not.

So when you're running a corporation like Ferrari that's so nationalistic, they've got the Italian flag on their cars and merch. It is the national team. Apart from their beloved but long-underperforming Azzurri football team, Ferrari is the next biggest thing, if not bigger when the footie team is this woeful. Defeat at Monza is double pain for Tifosi.

Who then do you put in to be the Luca of the current era? There's absolutely no one apart from Flavio Briatore. An 'episode' of Red Mist alluded to this at one stage, and he's Italian. He knows.

We know what Flavio is. The main character in Crashgate, and I'm not going to open that can of worms. It's what he did. He is the only option I see in the whole of Formula 1 who could go into Maranello and set it right.

If he left his advisory role with Alpine and Ferrari offered him a contract to run Maranello, to run Ferrari, I believe he's the only one with the experience, the gall, the canniness that would extract them from the mess. I shudder to share this realisation, but I find no other reasonable conclusion,

I know it initially sounds absurd. It did when it popped into the old brain, because I really despise what he did to the image of Formula 1. It was insanity. But bygones are bygones, I guess. And let's be realistic. He's in there. He's moving and shaking with Alpine, which is going to become Gucci Racing. Once you set him free in the paddock, there is no turning back. No matter what team, he is there for the long run.

Let's play the 'I am John Elkann' game, and I'm looking at the sh!tshow that is Ferrari at the moment and saying: "Okay, well, Fred's not doing a very good job. Where is Fred? He might also ask." And then bump into Flavio.

CV-wise, Briatore has done it all. Good, bad, udgly and very ugly. He is Italian. He knows the culture. He knows all the schemes. He knows all the tricks. He knows the game and how to play it better than most. He's been around.

After all, it was he who engineered the deal that got Schumacher to Ferrari, with Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger going the other way.

Again, there's me as Elkann, and I'm sitting in my office thinking about the bad press Ferrari get just about every race weekend. Hamilton not so grateful anymore, Charles pesky as usual and crashing cars and may ask what the f@ck am I going to do? I'd say pick up the phone, call Flavio and say: "Come sort this mess out."

Let's be honest, Flav is not doing a bad job with Alpine. Forget the fact that he destroyed Renault, that's another sad story. Let's not go there. But if you take away that permanent baggage, they got a pole position at Monza. It is an improving team since they opted for Mercedes power.

Briatore knows his stuff. You cannot deny that. But unfortunately, I don't think Elkann and Vigna combined know their stuff. And honestly, Flav is a last-resort solution to set Ferrari on track to greatness again. Ultimately, I can see no one else who would be able to thrive, let alone survive, in that position. Better the 'devil' you know, than devil you don't know.

As for Vasseur, the rumours that he's to be ditched, well, that's always the case with underperformance. I've never heard any mumblings about a team principal being fired when the team is doing well. In fact, I'd argue that some team principals live long beyond their sell-by date.

Correct me if I am wrong, with Vasseur at the helm since 2023, where Ferrari was then and where Ferrari is now, I don't see much of a difference.

So when I'm asked after Monza, "What about Ferrari?" I say: "Well, Fred Vasseur clearly doesn't read my Outside Lines, and no one's advising him, or he's not realising that he has to step up. He has nowhere to hide while leading Ferrari."

He has to make some hard decisions on Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Favouring the latter makes sense in terms of a title charge. Where's Fred? Doing the usual smooth talk with that endearing French accent of his: "Problem? I see no problem..."

Meanwhile, Charles and Lewis might not survive a coming together unless there's a voice that tells them: "Boys, these are the rules of engagement. Don't fuck around. Charles, Lewis is faster than you." And that voice hasn't been Vasseur's.

That's why it's time to get Briatore to steady the ship, call a spade a spade and take things forward at Maranello. I would be very, very surprised if it happens, and probably won't but it should.

Barring resigning themselves to Vasseur mediocrity for as loing as he is around, risk Rosberg-Hamilton style fall out with their drivers, I see no alternative, not even Horner for Ferrari.

In closing. With regards to Lewis and Charles coming together into and out of Retifilio, what was Lewis doing there on the inside of Charles in the first place? Does he not know how the Monaco Kid goes racing after a year and a half of being teammates?

Then, of course, Charles could've done Lewis a favour by not hanging him out to dry exiting that stupid chicane. But helping his teammates is not how he is wired. In the end, drivers out of control with no rules of engagement in sight, with Fred Vasseur AWOL when it matters most.