Four years ago at Monza, John Elkann publicly set out Ferrari’s long-term ambition: by 2026, the Maranello team was expected to return to winning both the Formula 1 Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. That season has now arrived, and after a deeply disappointing Italian Grand Prix, Fred Vasseur’s position as Ferrari team principal is once again coming under scrutiny.
No decision has been taken and there is currently no planned dismissal. However, indications emerging from Maranello and Turin suggest that the confidence surrounding Fred Vasseur is no longer considered untouchable. The situation has become particularly significant because 2026 was the horizon Ferrari itself had identified for returning to the top of Formula 1.
John Elkann’s Ferrari title target for 2026 returns to focus
On 10 September 2022, with Mattia Binotto still serving as Ferrari team principal, John Elkann publicly outlined where he expected the Scuderia to be four years later. The Ferrari chairman said that “from now to 2026” the team would return to winning a Constructors’ Championship and a Drivers’ Championship, with Charles Leclerc identified at the time as the driver “in pole position” to bring the title back to Maranello.
That statement was never a deadline specifically imposed on Fred Vasseur, who would only arrive at Ferrari a few months later. Nevertheless, it now inevitably influences how his tenure is assessed. Ferrari expected to return to the summit by the beginning of the new Formula 1 regulatory cycle, and four years later the championship remains some distance away.
The broader responsibility of Ferrari’s senior leadership has also been debated during recent seasons, with John Elkann and Benedetto Vigna previously facing questions over the team’s direction during difficult periods.
Fred Vasseur was given time to reshape Ferrari
Fred Vasseur has not lacked either time or backing. Ferrari came within just 14 points of McLaren in the 2024 Constructors’ Championship before deciding to sacrifice part of its 2025 campaign in order to bring forward work on the major 2026 project.
That strategy meant accepting short-term compromises in the hope that the new regulatory era would provide the opportunity Ferrari needed to return to championship contention. The decision to shift resources away from 2025 and towards the 2026 Formula 1 project therefore placed even greater importance on the performance of the SF-26.
At the same time, the French manager substantially redesigned Ferrari’s structure. Loïc Serra and Jérôme d’Ambrosio were brought to Maranello, while the organisation underwent a wider restructuring intended to create the team Fred Vasseur wanted around him. Ferrari’s continuing personnel changes were part of a broader restructuring programme ahead of the 2026 regulations.
Fred Vasseur also played a role in bringing Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, one of the most significant driver moves in recent Formula 1 history. In July 2025, Ferrari reinforced its confidence in the team principal by extending his contract with a new multi-year agreement.
The SF-26 is therefore, to a far greater extent than its predecessors, a Ferrari developed under the structure created during Fred Vasseur’s leadership. That creates the central paradox surrounding his current position: the French manager risks being questioned at precisely the moment when he finally has the organisation he wanted around him.
Why Fred Vasseur is back under pressure after Monza
The fundamental problem is that results have not followed Ferrari’s intended timetable. Following the Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes leads the Constructors’ Championship with 468 points compared with Ferrari’s 346, leaving the Scuderia 122 points behind.
Kimi Antonelli also leads the Drivers’ Championship, and his victory at Monza after starting from 19th place only magnified the contrast between Mercedes’ current position and Ferrari’s difficulties at its home Grand Prix.
For a team that invested heavily in the 2026 technical reset, that championship gap naturally increases the scrutiny surrounding the project. Ferrari’s choice to compromise the previous season was made precisely because the new regulations represented an opportunity to make a substantial competitive step. The results so far have not matched those expectations.
There are also problems beyond outright performance. Tension between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, operational mistakes and Ferrari’s difficulties in clearly managing the hierarchy between its drivers have once again placed Fred Vasseur at the centre of criticism.
Lewis Hamilton’s arrival had always carried major implications for the internal balance at Maranello. Even during his difficult first Ferrari season, the challenge of integrating the seven-time world champion into the team was evident, with Lewis Hamilton facing a demanding adaptation to Ferrari’s working methods before the 2026 reset.
According to information emerging after Monza, there is now dissatisfaction among senior Ferrari figures, who are evaluating the situation surrounding Fred Vasseur. That does not mean an immediate change has been decided, but it does mean the team principal’s position is once again being assessed.
Christian Horner and Antonello Coletta linked, but no Ferrari plan B yet
At present, Ferrari does not appear to have a defined alternative already in place. Two names have inevitably been associated with a possible succession: Christian Horner, who is currently available, and Antonello Coletta, the Ferrari figure who has overseen the successful endurance racing programme.
There is, however, no indication at this stage that formal discussions have already begun with either candidate. Their names therefore remain part of the wider speculation surrounding Ferrari rather than evidence that a replacement process is already under way.
Christian Horner has previously been connected with the Maranello team, with the potential implications for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton already generating discussion. The possibility of Christian Horner one day taking a senior Ferrari role has long carried questions about the team’s internal structure and driver relationships.
Ferrari’s 2026 target has arrived, but the title remains distant
The distinction remains important. The 2026 season was not a personal deadline given to Fred Vasseur when he became Ferrari team principal. John Elkann’s original statement came before the French manager had even joined the team.
But 2026 was the year by which Ferrari had publicly expected itself to be capable of winning championships again. Fred Vasseur was subsequently given the opportunity to reshape the structure, recruit key personnel, help bring Lewis Hamilton to Maranello and oversee the transition towards the SF-26.
That is why the current situation carries greater weight than another difficult race weekend in isolation. Ferrari deliberately placed enormous importance on the new Formula 1 era, and the team principal is now being judged against a project that increasingly bears his influence.
Four years after John Elkann established Ferrari’s 2026 horizon, that moment has finally arrived. The championship objective, however, remains far away — and after Monza, Fred Vasseur is once again among those whose future will inevitably be examined as Ferrari decides how to respond.
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