Ferrari takes unusual step to break silence on Fred Vasseur future

Ferrari has publicly thrown its support behind Fred Vasseur, adamant that the team has “full confidence” in the Frenchman’s leadership going forward.

Not for the first time since he joined Ferrari in 2023, whispers that Vasseur’s position as team principal is under threat have grown louder.

Ferrari confirms full confidence in Fred Vasseur

Over the weekend of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, multiple sources told PlanetF1.com that Ferrari is eyeing a succession plan that would include a ‘stage-managed’ exit to ease Vasseur out of his role as team principal.

Although Vasseur re-signed with Ferrari last season, the suggestion is that the 58-year-old will be allowed to step back from the demanding role of Ferrari team principal to either take a different internal position, or split altogether.

The speculation gathered momentum on the same weekend that The Times published an extract from Christian Horner’s new book in which the former Red Bull team boss spoke of the “dream” of leading Ferrari.

Vasseur was asked about the rumours in Baku.

“It’s my life, my business,” he said. “What can I do, what can I say?

“But it is what it is, it’s not in my hands. Mr. Horner is looking for a job – that everybody knows – everywhere.

“But what can I do? Just try to do my best to push the team, to raise them to be motivated, focus on what is better today.”

He accepted the reports about his imminent exit are not helping Ferrari.

“We are not working in the perfect serenity,” he said. “For me, firstly, but for everybody in the team. For the media, for 50 per cent of the questions [to be] about this, I think it’s a bit of a frustrating situation.

“We are fighting for P2 in the championship, and at the end of the day, we are all speaking a lot about this, and even for the guys in the garage, to discuss about this, it’s not the best discussion that we can have.”

Ferrari has now moved to quell the growing speculation.

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In a hastily-arranged press conference on Tuesday, Ferrari’s chief communication officer Maria Conti insisted the team has “full confidence” in Vasseur.

“In the recent days, there has been increasing speculation surrounding Scuderia Ferrari HP, and particularly dedicated to its leadership,” Conti said.

“Ferrari’s position is clear, has not changed, and Ferrari has made its choices already, and we have full confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so.

“At this time and in this particular moment, it’s really important that the team remains united and cohesive, and we are focused all the energy on the work ahead.

“Ferrari has always attracted extraordinary interest, and it is only natural that many professionals aspire to be part of it.

“It is a reflection of the strength of what Ferrari really represents.

“So this is why we really want to avoid, and we do not intend to fuel speculation or comment on assumptions coming from outside the company.”

“And is not just related to the story in The Times of Mr Horner, but in general, there is a lot of speculation about Fred.

“So again, we have confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so. And the position is clear, but not just now. We already confirmed in the past.”

Quizzed about why Ferrari had opted to hold a news conference on the subject, which is out of the norm, Conti explained that the ever-increasing number of headlines about Vasseur’s future necessitated a response from the team.

“First of all, we were not expecting to do that because the speculation raised from an interview to Mr. Horner at the beginning that honestly, on Saturday and Sunday, also looking at the social media in general – of course, we are used to speculation, and you can speak also to me coming from the launch of Luce how many storm of communication we had in the company, so we are used to that, Ferrari is used to that with more than 21 social media channel covering all the company – the fact is that after the race and on Saturday, Sunday and yesterday, that we can say this was increasing.

“Normally, it is going down.

“And we have a race the next weekend in Malaysia, we would like to take the time to ask you kindly not to focus on this.

“Fred is in his position, and we are confirming his leadership.

“And we would like to be focused on the race, the team and its leadership. This is why we have done it.”

She reiterated: “I repeat that Ferrari position is clear and does not change. So if I’m here because I’m officially saying, I’ve not Benedetto [Vegna] and John [Elkann] with me, but I’m of course aligned with the top management and Ferrari has made its choices.

“So there is confidence in Fred Vasser and his team. Nothing has changed, and we continue to do so.

“That’s it.”

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