Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is reportedly facing renewed scrutiny from within the organisation after the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, with senior figures said to be dissatisfied with how he is managing the increasingly tense rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
A difficult home weekend at Monza culminated in one of Ferrari’s most damaging races of the season. Leclerc crashed out on Lap 2 following a 60G impact at Parabolica, while Hamilton could recover only to sixth place after being forced into the gravel during an opening-lap battle with his team-mate. The seven-time world champion eventually crossed the line 24.655 seconds behind race winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Fred Vasseur reportedly under pressure after Ferrari’s Monza problems
According to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, discussion over Vasseur’s position has intensified following Ferrari’s home Grand Prix. His standing within the team’s internal balance of power is reportedly being questioned, while a campaign against the Frenchman is said to have begun promptly after the race because Ferrari’s senior management was dissatisfied with the way the team is being handled.
The concern appears to centre particularly on Vasseur’s management of Hamilton and Leclerc. Their Monza confrontation was not an isolated episode but the latest development in a rivalry that has become increasingly important to Ferrari’s 2026 campaign. The wider tension between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc has consequently become another challenge for the Ferrari team principal to control.
The trouble began almost immediately at the Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton attacked Leclerc for third place through the Rettifilo chicane and managed to edge the nose of his car ahead before the apex of Turn 2. Leclerc nevertheless held his ground, ran wide on the exit and forced Hamilton into the gravel trap.
The incident dropped the British driver to ninth place before he soon slipped to 10th, significantly compromising his race from the opening lap. Leclerc’s afternoon lasted only a little longer, with his heavy accident at Parabolica leaving Ferrari without one of its cars almost immediately. Subsequent attention has also focused on the condition of the SF-26 following Charles Leclerc’s 60G Monza crash.
Hamilton and Leclerc rivalry has already tested Ferrari in 2026
Vasseur has previously chosen not to intervene decisively when the two Ferrari drivers have found themselves fighting each other. During the second round of the season in China, the team principal declined to impose team orders as Hamilton and Leclerc battled on track.
Ferrari again stayed out of their contest at the Dutch Grand Prix, even after Hamilton was clearly delayed behind Leclerc following the Monegasque driver’s late pit stop. The Monza incident therefore added another chapter to a season-long internal contest at a particularly damaging moment, in front of Ferrari’s home crowd.
The timing made the situation even more painful for the Scuderia. Ferrari had introduced its latest Power Unit specification for the Italian Grand Prix, with both Hamilton and Leclerc receiving their final engines without incurring a grid penalty. The developments formed part of the technical package Ferrari had prepared specifically for Monza after extensive work on the SF-26 engine and floor upgrades.
Despite those changes, Hamilton was unable to challenge at the front and finished more than 24 seconds behind the winner. Leclerc, meanwhile, was eliminated before Ferrari could discover what race performance his car might have offered.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli compounds Ferrari’s difficult home Grand Prix
Ferrari’s disappointment was magnified by the identity and circumstances of the race winner. Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced a remarkable recovery from 19th on the grid to win his home Grand Prix, making rapid progress through the field after taking a grid penalty for exceeding his season allocation of Power Unit components.
Antonelli’s charge gave the Italian crowd a new home success to celebrate on a weekend when Ferrari had hoped to make its own impact at Monza. Hamilton later reflected on the Mercedes driver’s performance after Antonelli’s winning recovery through the field.
For the Maranello team, however, the combination of an early intra-team clash, Leclerc’s retirement and Hamilton’s distant sixth place turned the 2026 Italian Grand Prix into a damaging afternoon both on and off the circuit.
Vasseur’s Ferrari contract may not end questions over his future
Vasseur’s position is particularly significant because Ferrari only extended his contract in July 2025. The agreement is believed to secure the Frenchman through at least the 2027 Formula 1 season and also contains an option covering 2028.
That contractual security does not necessarily remove the pressure if Ferrari’s hierarchy, headed by chairman John Elkann, develops serious concerns about the way Vasseur is controlling the internal battle between its two drivers. The report suggests the consequences could ultimately become significant even though Vasseur remains under contract for 2027.
Managing Hamilton and Leclerc is especially important because Ferrari had begun to establish itself as a possible championship challenger to Mercedes and Antonelli. Losing points through internal confrontations could therefore have wider consequences than simply determining which Ferrari driver finishes ahead on a particular Sunday.
Hamilton loses ground to Antonelli in Formula 1 standings
The Italian Grand Prix also changed the championship picture. Hamilton now sits 76 points behind Antonelli heading into the first Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit in Madrid this weekend.
George Russell has also moved 10 points ahead of Hamilton in second place, while McLaren’s Lando Norris is only 20 points behind the Ferrari driver. That leaves Hamilton involved in a close three-way contest with Russell and Norris for second position after 13 rounds, with the latest Formula 1 driver standings illustrating the pressure building behind the championship leader.
Ferrari consequently enters the next stage of the season facing two connected challenges. The team must recover from a deeply disappointing home Grand Prix while also ensuring that competition between Hamilton and Leclerc does not undermine its wider objectives. With scrutiny now reportedly growing around Vasseur, how the team principal manages that relationship could become increasingly important to both Ferrari’s championship prospects and his own position at Maranello.
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