Is this the man to replace Fred Vasseur at Ferrari?

As questions continue to be asked about Fred Vasseur’s tenure as Ferrari team principal, Formula 1’s rumour mill put forward former Red Bull boss Christian Horner as his successor.

But another person has emerged as the frontrunner: Antonello Coletta, who led Ferrari to a third successive victory at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans before capping the season with a championship double, Ferrari’s first since Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari won the 2007 F1 championship.

Ferrari’s latest disaster has come at a bad time for Fred Vasseur

A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the 2025 Brazilian Grand Prix.

When the rumours surrounding Fred Vasseur’s position as Ferrari team principal first surfaced in June, two potential successors were named in the Italian media.

The first, with great inevitability, was Christian Horner, who at that stage was still attached to Red Bull and, as reported at the time by PlanetF1.com, had recently turned down an approach by Ferrari.

The second was a name less familiar to those of a Formula 1 disposition: Antonello Coletta, who has spent the last few years as the head of Ferrari’s highly successful World Endurance Championship team.

How successful?

Well, the 499P hypercar remains unbeaten at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours since Ferrari returned to the top tier of endurance racing in 2023.

And on the day Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s star signing for the 2025 season, was being knocked out of Q2 in Brazil, Coletta’s team was in the process of celebrating a drivers’ and manufacturers’ title double in the WEC season finale in Bahrain.

Sorry, what’s that? A Ferrari team? The class of the field? In a highly competitive category of motor racing stacked with manufacturers?

Say it ain’t so! Maybe it can be done after all…

Against the backdrop of Ferrari’s success in the WEC, the F1 team’s subsequent disaster on race day at Interlagos, which saw both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc retire by around half distance to mark the team’s second double DNF since the summer break, came at a bad time for Vasseur.

Ferrari, to its credit, has tried everything to silence the noise surrounding Vasseur and his future.

First by handing him a new multi-year contract ahead of the summer break and then by John Elkann issuing what’s known as the Dreaded Vote of Confidence – usually the kind of thing people in Elkann’s position say right before going ahead and firing the guy anyway – after the recent United States Grand Prix.

Yet the criticism of Vasseur long ago took on a weirdly personal edge and it seems some factions of the Italian media simply will not rest until he pays for Ferrari’s lacklustre season with his job.

Regardless of what Fred’s new contract might say, Ferrari team principals tend not to make it out of these situations in one piece.

And if Horner, as PlanetF1.com has consistently reported, is unattainable, wouldn’t Coletta represent the ideal in-house solution by simply moving him across – in other words, promoting him – from his current role?

Those reports from Italy over the summer claimed that Coletta had already once turned down the job of Ferrari team principal in the past and, in the event of Vasseur’s departure, would not be allowed to do so a second time.

Might Elkann and Co. look at what he has achieved in the WEC and allow themselves to wonder what impact he could have on Ferrari’s eternally misfiring F1 team?

You can see the logic…

More analysis from the Brazilian Grand Prix

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Reader reaction: Time’s up for Vasseur, and also Hamilton

Katie: For Ferrari i have to tell one thing. Don’t touch the WEC team. Simply follow their example, but with the right choices, not only moves for impression, and i mean with that the wrong decision about Hamilton. For other things about the job on the factory they need better mechanics and aerodynamists. It’s pretty clear..The race of Brazil leaves me a bitter taste, because Charles who doesn’t do anything wrong is being destroyed by Piastri (can’t blame Antonelli here)..For Lewis, the same falling every time at every race… I don’t really feel pity for him, he doesn’t cares.

Remove DRS Button: I think that the Fred being replaced stories need to stop and be changed to Lewis not living up to anything we were told was going happen. There’s no hiding it anymore and this weekend wouldn’t have been bad for Ferrari if Lewis was just peforming

Mark Abbott: Elkann, Fred, engineers and designers along with other technical staff have failed. Definitely not the drivers. Renowned for excuses year after year the prancing horse is no longer. Ferrari are a joke. Look at Red Bull, Mercedes even Haas are able to introduce more competitive cars. What I am looking forward to is Audi. I think they are going to be great for the sport.

Steve Davidson: Seems obvious where the problem is at Ferrari and it’s not with the drivers.

K T: I feel for Vasseur; he may like Hamilton personally but I don’t for one moment think he pushed to sign him. He had a great set up with CS and CL and I think he had Hamilton forced upon him by senior management who thought hat sales translated into track success. Now of course, it’s Fred who will have to carry the can. Such is the Ferrari way.

Crost: Fred, Ferrari fans expected better from you. Get some dignity and resign, as Domenicali did, admitting he could not provide a good car to Alonso.

Stefano: It is now in clear view that Fred contributed to one of the biggest mistakes at Ferrari, and may be at the end of next season the hugest mistake in F1 history.

All of the rookies, except one, would have finished ahead of Hamilton yesterday had he stayed in. If that isn’t the writing on the wall what is Fred?

Banger: Well, to be fair, it was not Vasseur that wanted HAM, it was that elkaan dude..

So Vasseur had to tow the company line, or get fired.. We know what option he picked, and the results, or lack there off, is out in the open for all to see.

Billy Bob: Yeah Vasseur and 44 should be removed

Pete Bauer: Immediately. Add Elkaan to this list

Read next: ‘Serious irritations’ at Ferrari as ‘2.5m per weekend’ Hamilton ‘doesn’t deliver’