Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has welcomed public backing from the team's leadership and called for unity within the Maranello squad, urging against finger-pointing and distraction from outside noise. His comments come after speculation about his future resurfaced earlier this week.
Despite Ferrari showing improved form under the new 2026 regulations, Vasseur's position became a hot topic in the media following an interview with former Red Bull F1 chief Christian Horner in The Times, where Horner described the Ferrari job as a dream role, though he did not explicitly state he was pursuing it.
The remarks were enough to ignite a media frenzy, particularly in Ferrari's home country Italy, prompting the team to issue a statement at the request of Ferrari president John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna, backing Vasseur.
"This is not just related to the story in The Times of Mr Horner, but in general, there is a lot of speculation about Fred," the statement read. "So again, we have confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so. And the position is clear, but not just now. We already confirmed in the past."
With Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc also backing their boss on Thursday, Vasseur said he welcomed the support and hoped for a return to relative calm in Maranello as the team focuses on finishing the season strongly and advancing the 2027 car and power unit projects.
"When you see the noise and all the rumours in the press all week, as a team we need to work in serenity and it was absolutely not the case," Vasseur said in a press conference at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix, exceptionally held in Malaysia. "I think the statement was mandatory to do something or it would have been the same this weekend. Honestly, the big issue we have today is the stability, the serenity in the team, the focus that we need to have and not to have this kind of question all day."
While handing Vasseur his strongest vote of support yet, Hamilton suggested the structure around the Frenchman could use some tweaking, although he refused to go into details. "There is a structure that's been there for some time; whether or not that needs looking at moving forward... There are changes that I would make, but I'm not going to talk about what those are," the seven-time world champion said. "Toto [Wolff] is in a different position to Fred and the structure's a lot different. So, that's all I can say on it, really."
But Vasseur didn't feel there was an organisational issue at Maranello and said it would be a "big mistake" to point fingers. Improving his squad's inner workings is a continuous process. "On the comment of Lewis, I think it would be a mistake to finger-point someone or something," Vasseur said. "In the good moments, we are winning as a team. In the bad moments, we are together."
Read Also
Flavio Briatore tegaskan Alpine lupakan insiden Baku antara Colapinto dan Gasly. Fokus kini ke Grand Prix Malaysia dan perburuan posisi kelima konstruktor.
Lewis Hamilton dan Charles Leclerc kompak membela Frederic Vasseur dari kritik Christian Horner. Simak dinamika internal Ferrari jelang balapan di Sepang dan Motegi.
Fred Vasseur peringatkan 'kesalahan besar' jika Ferrari saling menyalahkan di tengah rumor masa depannya. Ia menyerukan ketenangan dan persatuan tim.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!