Fred Vasseur Admits the ‘Noise’ Around Ferrari Has Become a ‘Big Issue’ Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

• Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the “noise” surrounding his position has become a “big issue” for the team
• Vasseur admits a statement this week reiterating Ferrari’s faith in him was “mandatory” after weeks of speculation tied to Christian Horner
• He defended his relationship with chairman John Elkann and chief executive Benedetto Vigna after Lewis Hamilton raised questions about Ferrari’s structure

Vasseur Breaks His Silence on Ferrari’s Season of Speculation

Fred Vasseur says the “noise” surrounding Ferrari has turned into a “big issue” for the team, and admits the statement the Scuderia issued earlier this week reiterating its faith in him had become “mandatory.”

Vasseur said after last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix that Ferrari were “not working in perfect serenity” amid persistent rumours over his position at the team, speaking again on the subject ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

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A Statement Made “Mandatory” by the Rumours

Italian media have speculated over Vasseur’s future in recent weeks, with the latest round of rumours triggered by former Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who is promoting a new book and told The Times newspaper that Ferrari would be his “dream” destination. Vasseur joined Ferrari from Sauber at the start of 2023 and has faced frequent speculation over his role in the years that followed, though the team are second in the Teams’ Championship behind Mercedes and have failed to score a podium in any of their last five races.

Addressing the speculation in Baku, Vasseur said: “We are not working in the perfect serenity. For me, first, but for everybody in the team, for the media, for 50% of the questions [to be] about this, it’s a bit of a frustrating situation.

“We are fighting for P2 in the championship, and at the end of the day, we are all speaking a lot about this, and even for the guys in the garage, to discuss about this.

“But it is what it is, it’s not in my hands. Mr Horner is looking for a job – that everybody knows – everywhere. But what can I do? Just try to do my best to push the team, to rise them to be motivated, focus on what is better today.”

How Ferrari’s “Full Confidence” Statement Came Together

Ferrari called a hastily arranged briefing with selected media on the Tuesday ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia to publicly back Vasseur. Chief Communication Officer Maria Conti told reporters the position of the team “has not changed.”

“In the recent days there has been increasing speculation surrounding Scuderia Ferrari HP and particularly dedicated to its leadership,” Conti said. “So Ferrari’s position is clear, [it] has not changed.

“Ferrari has made its choices already. We have full confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team and we continue to do so. At this time, it’s really important that the team remains united and cohesive, and we focused all the energy on the work ahead.”

Conti added that the statement was aligned with the top of the company, Ferrari chairman John Elkann and chief executive Benedetto Vigna, and said the team wanted to avoid the Sepang weekend being “focused only on this kind of gossip and speculation.”

Vasseur said the statement had become necessary rather than optional.

“When you see the noise and all the rumours in the press all the week, I think as a team we need to work in serenity, and it was absolutely not the case,” Vasseur said.

“I think the statement was mandatory to do something, or it would have been the same this weekend.

“But honestly, the big issue that 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 the day.”

“Sometimes the Attacks Are a Bit Personal”

Vasseur, 58, called for a friendlier media and said he had accepted both sides of the job when he took on the team principal role, while making clear some of the criticism directed at him has gone further than he expected.

“When you take the role, the positive and the negative side of the job. I was expecting something like this,” Vasseur said.

“What is sometimes a bit unfair is when you put someone under the bus, and I’m there also to defend my team, my guys.

“When we are winning, we are winning as a team, but when we are struggling, I’m there to defend all of them. I think it’s the right attitude from everybody, from them to defend the team principal, from me to defend them when we are struggling.

“Honestly, I knew what I would get on that. I’m not surprised at all, but sometimes the attacks are a bit personal. It’s not good.”

Defending the Structure Above Him

Hamilton had passionately defended Vasseur ahead of the weekend, pointing to Ferrari’s internal structure and questioning whether it needed to change. It was not clear from Hamilton’s comments whether he was referring to the top of the organisation, including Elkann and Vigna, or to people working beneath Vasseur.

Asked directly about Hamilton’s comments and Ferrari’s structure, Vasseur defended the relationship he holds with the top of the company.

“The relationship that I have with my bosses, Benedetto and John, is a very good one,” Vasseur said.

“We are in daily contact, and I can’t complain at all about the organisation. But for sure, you always want to get more, you always want to do more, you always want to recruit more too.

“But I think it’s true for me and it’s true for everybody on the grid, that you always want to do more because it’s the DNA of what we are doing. But honestly, it has nothing to do with the organisation.”

Vasseur has signed a multi-year contract extension at Ferrari and has been credited with convincing both Charles Leclerc to commit his future to the team and Hamilton to leave Mercedes, the team with whom he won six of his seven world titles, to join Ferrari for 2025. The Scuderia’s last world championship came in 2008.

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Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

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