Ferrari has moved to shut down speculation surrounding Fred Vasseur’s future, confirming that its trust in the team principal and his working group remains complete and unchanged. The clarification follows several days of rumours intensified by Christian Horner’s recent comments, with Ferrari also stressing that its backing should not be interpreted as support limited only to the end of the season.
After initially choosing not to respond, the Scuderia organised an online meeting with the Italian media this morning to clarify the position of Ferrari management. The message from Maranello was unequivocal: Fred Vasseur continues to have the full confidence of the company.
Ferrari responds to Fred Vasseur and Christian Horner speculation
The intervention follows a Baku weekend during which questions about Fred Vasseur’s future became a major talking point. Christian Horner had fuelled the discussion with comments made to The Times, describing Ferrari as “the dream” and explaining that Maranello would be the only destination for which he would consider returning to Formula 1 without an ownership stake.
Those remarks inevitably added momentum to speculation already surrounding Fred Vasseur’s position. At the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Fred Vasseur had made no attempt to hide his frustration with a situation that had become a distraction for the entire team.
“We are not working with complete peace of mind,” Fred Vasseur admitted, pointing out that a significant proportion of the questions being directed at him and Ferrari personnel were now about his future rather than the team’s work on track.
Ferrari initially hoped the speculation would disappear without requiring an official response. That did not happen, prompting the company to bring together the media and clarify its position.
“There has been quite a lot of speculation around the Scuderia and its leadership,” Ferrari explained during the meeting. “Many will have wondered why we did not respond earlier: simply because we hoped these things would come to an end. Ferrari’s position is clear and has not changed. Ferrari made its choices and the trust in Fred Vasseur and his team was there and continues to be there.”
Ferrari wants the focus back on results
Ferrari also explained why it had decided to intervene publicly. The extraordinary level of attention surrounding everything connected with Maranello is regarded as a natural consequence of the strength of the brand, but the team believes a line has to be drawn when external speculation begins to affect its day-to-day work.
“Ferrari has always generated extraordinary interest and that is also a sign of the strength of what it represents around the world. We are proud of that, but we do not want to fuel speculation or theories coming from outside.”
The objective is now to return attention to performance on track, particularly at a stage of the season when Ferrari’s rivals have made significant progress. The broader competitive picture can also be followed through Ferrari’s comparison with its Formula 1 rivals.
“All this noise does not help. It is also our responsibility to try to allow the team to concentrate on what it primarily has to do, which is trying to achieve results on track.”
Fred Vasseur gets the response he wanted from Ferrari
That message closely reflects what Fred Vasseur had already said in Baku, where he explained that the constant questions about his future had become a disruptive element for a group focused on fighting for the leading positions in the Constructors’ Championship.
Asked about Christian Horner’s comments, Fred Vasseur had responded directly: “Christian Horner is looking for a job, everybody knows that. But what can I do about it? I can only keep pushing the team, motivating it and concentrating on what we can do.”
Three days later, the response Fred Vasseur had been hoping for arrived. This time it came directly from Ferrari: the speculation surrounding the Scuderia’s leadership has been rejected, and management has reaffirmed its full confidence in the current team principal and the group working alongside him.
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