Vasseur: My job is the most exciting position in the paddock

Ferrari's top brass appear to have faith in Vasseur turning things around and were ready to give him more time to achieve the goal of winning with the Reds despite struggling this season with an inconsistent car with which seven-time Formula 1Champion Lewis Hamilton is struggling massively but which Charles Leclerc is able to control far better.

Speaking to Formula 1's Official Website, Vasseur discussed his contract renewal and what it meant to be leading the sport's most famous and successful team.

"My job is probably the most exciting position in the paddock," he said. "If you're able to win in F1, it is mega, but to win with Ferrari is something very exciting.

"It's a good step into the process," the Frenchman said of his contract extension and revealed: "We had a couple of discussions, and there were some rumours in the press the last couple of weeks. It's not easy for the stability of the team and for the mood of the team, but now this is behind us.

"It's important. It's a good step. We have to be ready for the last part of the season. We are fighting with Mercedes and Red Bull for P2, and we want to win some races until the end.

"The 2026 project (when sweeping new chassis and power unit rules will be introduced) is a huge challenge that we have to be all fully aligned and all together to manage it," he maintained.

Over the years, success in F1 has proven to be a time-consuming process with many setbacks expected along the way, requiring much patience.

Jean Todt joined Ferrari in 1993, but it wasn't until 2000 that they started winning after the Frenchman built the dream team with Michael Schumacher spearheading their campaigns. All that wouldn't have been achieved without full support from the top management, who shielded the team from the immense pressure of being at Ferrari.

The same rule applies to other teams. Red Bull needed five years to start winning, McLaren even more, and look what they are doing now.

Vasseur insists that is the case; he added: "I'm really convinced that it's taking time. It's taking time at Ferrari, but everywhere in general, if you have a look at the good story of F1 that when Christian [Horner] joined Red Bull or when Jean [Todt] joined Ferrari, before all these good success stories [it] took time before the first win.

"You need a couple of years to build up a team, to recruit people that you want to have with you, and then it takes also time to work together. We want to be very agile in F1, but the reality is that we have a lot of inertia."

Vasseur, who was the boss at Renault and Alfa Romeo/Sauber before joining Maranello, insists Ferrari should be harmonious, all pushing in the same direction to achieve success.

He stated: "We have a clear target, a clear goal. Everybody in the company is aligned on this project and pushing in the same direction.

this is probably the best feeling when you have a goal and that everybody is convinced that we can achieve it, we can go for it, and that we are all pushing in the same direction.

"It's not a secret that Ferrari want to win again, but we have a target, and the goal is very, very clear," he claimed. "We'll put everything to achieve it. It's enough as a target that we all want to win the championship.

"We did a decent step forward everywhere, but now we need perhaps a bit more time to put everything together, and the 2026 challenge it's a good opportunity," Vasseur concluded.

2026, with its new regulations, will be the first challenge Vasseur and Ferrari have to succeed in, which will plot the future path for the Italian F1 squad.