Vasseur replies ‘subtly’ to Elkann? The team principal’s clear stance: “I prefer to have drivers who…”
Fred Vasseur took a noticeably firm position after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, using words that sounded like a subtle response to President John Elkann’s criticism aimed at Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton: “I prefer to have drivers who…”
The Maranello team completed the first of the final three races of the 2025 season with another result below expectations. After Las Vegas, Fred Vasseur called for calm, while also offering what seemed to be a veiled answer to John Elkann’s public criticism of the Ferrari drivers. Here is the team principal’s full view.
On Thursday in Las Vegas, both drivers dismantled the controversy. Charles Leclerc explained that Elkann calls him frequently and had already clarified the meaning behind those comments, describing them as a message intended to motivate the entire team. Lewis Hamilton, although adding a few playful remarks, also stated that he speaks with the President every week. Were these statements crafted ‘ad hoc’ by Maranello’s communications department? Almost certainly. Meanwhile, some believe that John Elkann should reconsider who informs him internally. Now, Fred Vasseur himself seemed to respond to the criticism directed at the Scuderia’s drivers. Here is what he said during the Las Vegas press conference.
Vasseur: “What matters is not what they say, but what they do on Monday”
“I prefer to have drivers who are open and who say at the end of a race that they are frustrated when the job was not done perfectly or when the car wasn’t good,” Fred Vasseur said. “Rather than having them go to TV interviews saying that everything is perfect and that the car is great. In that case, you would end up disappointed.”
With those words, Fred Vasseur strongly defended both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. From a performance point of view, the Monegasque cannot be faulted, although some of his comments may have bothered certain internal members who work on the car. Criticism, however, is always justified when the team has not done a better job than its rivals—provided that it is constructive. The seven-time world champion, meanwhile, was once again left frustrated after Las Vegas, describing 2025 as the worst season of his career.
The team principal admitted that he did not like hearing those comments but fully understood the frustration of the driver wearing number 44. “You cannot blame them for everything in every circumstance. I believe that for any human being it is normal to be a bit emotional on the radio or immediately after a session. What matters most is not what they say in the mixed zone, but what they do on Monday morning with the team—how they try to improve and motivate the whole group to do the same. That is the real job of a driver, rather than giving interviews.”
Regarding the President’s remarks, the French manager also interpreted John Elkann’s statements in his own way: “Surely he [Elkann] wants to push the team to do a better job. We have to take it as a positive and supportive message. Yes, this was certainly a difficult weekend, but it has nothing to do with that. This weekend was mainly about technical issues.”
Coming just days after Lewis Hamilton called 2025 the worst season of his career and Charles Leclerc again highlighted long-standing problems, Fred Vasseur’s comments read like a quiet but firm line in the sand: criticise the results all you want, but don’t shoot the messengers.
With only Qatar and Abu Dhabi left, Ferrari’s 2025 is limping to the finish line – and the relationship between Maranello’s drivers, team boss and chairman is under more scrutiny than ever heading into the crucial 2026 reset.
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