Frederic Vasseur has hit back at Christian Horner after the former Red Bull team principal described Ferrari as his dream Formula 1 job.

Horner said Ferrari was the only team he would consider joining without receiving an ownership stake, calling Maranello the sleeping giant of Formula 1. The comments added another round of speculation about Vasseur’s future while Ferrari is fighting for second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Vasseur made clear that he regarded the intervention as neither accidental nor helpful.

Christian Horner has been looking for a job for some time now, he said after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Ferrari team principal said the repeated questions were affecting the wider organization rather than simply irritating him.

It’s not easy to work in this atmosphere and have to answer the same questions 25 times a day, for me and for everyone on the team, Vasseur said. Of course, that takes its toll and is quite draining.

Ferrari finished fourth and sixth in Baku with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The team scored more points than McLaren, but Vasseur said the sporting contest had been pushed aside by another management rumor.

We’re fighting for second place in the championship, but in the end everyone talks about this very thing, he said.

Asked directly about Horner, Vasseur added: Mr. Horner is looking for work. Everyone knows that. Anywhere.

Former Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has also warned that recruiting a high-profile manager would not solve the team’s problems by itself. He argued that Horner’s record would increase expectations and force Ferrari to begin another restructuring process.

Hamilton, meanwhile, gave Vasseur a concise endorsement when asked whether Ferrari remained on the correct path under its current leadership: Yes.

Horner has not announced a return to Formula 1, and Ferrari has not indicated that it intends to replace Vasseur. For the moment, the practical consequence of Horner’s dream job is that Vasseur must keep answering questions about someone who does not have it.