Ferrari has responded to speculation over Fred Vasseur’s future by publicly expressing its backing and support for its Formula 1 team principal.
Vasseur, 58, took charge of Ferrari at the start of the 2023 season and was instrumental in the signing of Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes for 2025.
But Ferrari has failed to end its world championship drought that dates back to 2008 under Vasseur’s leadership. It narrowly missed out on the constructors’ title to McLaren in 2024 before enduring a winless campaign last year.
Although Ferrari has won twice this year, with Hamilton in Barcelona and Charles Leclerc at the British Grand Prix, the team’s form has started to tail off in recent weeks.
Ferrari lies second in F1’s constructors’ championship, 160 points behind Mercedes and with a 72-point buffer to McLaren in third place.
It has led to fresh speculation about Vasseur’s future, partly fuelled by comments from former Red Bull chief Christian Horner, who told The Times that Ferrari was the one team he’d consider returning to F1 for without taking an ownership stake.
On Tuesday, Ferrari’s chief communications officer, Maria Conti, held a media briefing to acknowledge the speculation and express the manufacturer’s faith in Vasseur, as well as that of Ferrari chairman John Elkann and its CEO, Benedetto Vigna.
“Ferrari has made its choices,” said Conti. “We had confidence in Fred Vasseur and his team, and we continue to do so. At this moment, it is essential that the team remains united and cohesive, focusing all its energy on the work ahead.”
Conti said that Ferrari had “always attracted extraordinary interest, and it is only natural that many professionals aspire to be part of it,” but that it did not want to “fuel speculation or comment on assumptions coming from outside the company.”
Vasseur and Hamilton worked together in the junior categories (Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images)
Vasseur signed a multi-year contract extension with Ferrari last season which moved to end a previous bout of speculation about his future at the helm of F1’s most famous and successful team.
In Azerbaijan on Saturday, Vasseur told reporters that Ferrari was “not working in the perfect serenity” due to distractions from the outside such as Horner’s comments.
“But it is what it is. It’s not in my hands,” said Vasseur. “Mr. Horner is looking for a job — that everybody knows, everywhere. But what can I do? (I) just try to do my best to push the team, to (lift) them, to be motivated, focus on what is better today.”
When asked by Sky Sports after the race in Azerbaijan if he still believed Ferrari was on a good path under Vasseur, Hamilton, who first worked with Vasseur as a young driver before reaching F1, replied: “Yes.
Does this mean Vasseur is safe?
Analysis by Luke Smith, Senior Writer, F1
It’s rare for a team to come out as publicly as Ferrari has done over speculation about its leadership. But clearly, the company — the message came from Ferrari headquarters directly — felt it had to say something given the recent noise over Vasseur’s future.
Horner has been trying to find a way back into F1 since being fired by Red Bull in July 2025. He has been clear that he only wants to do so while taking ownership in a team, having been most strongly linked to taking shares in Alpine.
But his admission to The Times that there was “only one team for which I would accept non-participation in ownership” and description of Ferrari as “the dream” for many in F1 did serve to stir up the rumor mill.
The last time Ferrari moved to deny speculation about its F1 boss was in 2022, when, after reports in the Italian media that Mattia Binotto was set to be replaced, the team put out a statement saying the “rumours are totally without foundation.” Two weeks later, Binotto had stepped down as team principal.
Vasseur has been working to bring together his Ferrari vision since taking charge. In multiple interviews with The Athletic in recent years, he has spoken about the time it takes to bring the pieces together, as well as going into the job knowing how exposed he would be to criticism.
But after making a solid start to 2026, regularly looking like the second-fastest team behind Mercedes and only hamstrung by its less powerful engine, Ferrari’s form has waned of late. It hasn’t scored a podium finish since July’s Belgian GP.
Vasseur’s mention of there not being “perfect serenity” in Azerbaijan was telling of the impact of the noise around the team. It’s a frustration that previously left him upset midway through 2025 when there was last suggestions that his future race question marks about his future.
As important as the backing may be to Vasseur and for the team to get the unity it craves, there’ll be no better response than strong results on the race track through the remainder of the season.
