Fred Vasseur has responded to reports that Christian Horner is interested in his job at Ferrari. Image: XPB Images
Questions surrounding Vasseur’s position intensified during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend following comments from Horner in which the former Red Bull boss described Ferrari as the one team that could tempt him back without an ownership stake.
Horner, who has been away from F1 since leaving Red Bull in July 2025, said Ferrari remained a unique proposition despite previously insisting that any return would ideally involve equity in a team.
“Would I consider Ferrari? I mean, Ferrari is the biggest brand in Formula 1. It’s the dream. And arguably it’s the sleeping giant of Formula 1,” Horner told The Times.
Those remarks have added another layer to the scrutiny surrounding Vasseur amid a difficult period for Ferrari, which sits second in the constructors’ championship but remains well adrift of Mercedes.
Ferrari finished fourth and sixth in Baku through Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with Vasseur acknowledging afterwards that repeated questions over his future were creating an unwanted distraction.
“We are not working in perfect serenity, if that is the question,” he said.
“For me, first, but for everybody on the team, for the media, for 50 percent of the questions about this, I think it’s a bit of a frustrating situation.
“We are fighting for P2 in the championship. At the end of the day, we are all speaking a lot about this [rumours about his position], and even for the guys in the garage to discuss about this, it’s not the best discussion that we can have.
“But it is what it is, it’s not in my hands.”
Vasseur then directly addressed the Horner speculation, suggesting the former Red Bull team principal’s availability was inevitably fuelling discussion around possible vacancies.
“Mr Horner is looking for a job – that everybody knows – everywhere.
“But what can I do? Just to try to do my best to push the team, to ask them to be motivated, focus on what is better today, and not to spend time with gossips.
“But each interview, it’s been 25 times a day, I think we are coming back on this.”
Vasseur took control of Ferrari at the start of 2023 and signed a multi-year contract extension last season understood to run until at least the end of 2027.
Despite that deal, his position has again become a subject of speculation during a season in which Ferrari has failed to sustain a serious championship challenge after showing promise earlier in the year.
Hamilton and Leclerc have one win apiece in 2026, while Ferrari has also faced criticism over elements of its race-weekend execution as the campaign has progressed.
Vasseur nevertheless reiterated his commitment to the team when asked whether he remained fully invested in continuing at Maranello.
“Sure, this sport is my life, it is my business, and I try to do my best. I’m here to do my job, and I have the best job in the world, and we still have seven races to go.”
The Frenchman was also asked whether he could envisage working alongside Horner at Ferrari rather than being replaced by him.
“You have to ask my assistant,” he quipped.
‘It’s the dream’: Horner opens door to F1 return with Ferrari