Vasseur: Friendship with Wolff no harm to Ferrari F1 ambitions

Vasseur briefly lived with Wolff when he moved to the UK to be Renault team principal in 2016, and the pair have been close ever since.

But with Vasseur having taken over the helm at one of Mercedes' chief F1 rivals, there has been much intrigue about how much they will be able to remain friends if they get locked in an intense battle for victory.

Furthermore, F1's infamous labelling of the deep rivalry between team bosses as being a 'Piranha Club', suggests that success is sometimes dependent on being willing to pull a fast one over the opposition.

Asked by Autosport/Motorsport.com about his willingness to throw Wolff under a bus if he needed to, Vasseur joked that 'we are not speaking any more', before explaining that he did not think it a negative they get on so well.

"I think globally, it's an advantage, but we have to be clever," explained Vasseur.

"I know that we will fight on track, we will fight with the stewards, we will fight in the FIA, and we will fight for the Concorde Agreement. This is life.

Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

"But, at the end of the day, I think for the global picture, it's an advantage also to have a very good collaboration between teams.

"And on this side, when the common interest of the teams or F1 will be to have discussions and to find an agreement, I think it will be a huge advantage to have a good relationship."

Vasseur felt that the closeness he has with Wolff is sometimes overplayed, as he explained that he got on well with a number of other team bosses.

"I also have a good relationship with a couple of other of my colleagues," he said. "I think this is always good.

"Then we have to be clever enough to split completely [this friendship], and you can be sure I will fight like hell with Toto on the track and out of the track!"