Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has justified the recent intervention made by the team by clarifying his position, insisting it is a “big issue” that team harmony needs to be maintained.
In recent weeks, Vasseur’s position at Ferrari became the topic of debate, with Christian Horner putting himself forward as a candidate for the role.
The former Red Bull boss declared that he would drop his condition of an ownership equity stake in a team for a return to F1 if it meant he was able to run the day-to-day operations of Ferrari.
After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ferrari gathered select media to insist that it had full confidence in Vasseur.
The Frenchman has detailed that it was necessary to do so in order to cancel the noise that was being generated.
“When you see the noise and all the rumours in the press all week, I think as a team, we need to work in serenity,” Vasseur told media including RacingNews365.
“And it was absolutely not the case. The statement, it was mandatory to do something or it would have been the same this weekend.
“But honestly, the big issue that we have today is to [instil] stability, the serenity in the team, the focus that we need to have, and not to have these kind of questions all day.”
Williams F1 boss issues Vasseur defence
Vasseur has had public support declared for him by Ferrari’s drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
He also got backing from an unlikely source, as Williams team boss James Vowles jumped to his defence while sitting alongside Vasseur during the team representatives’ press conference in Malaysia.
“Normally, we beat each other up and put knives in our backs,” Vowles said.
“But Ferrari is in the best place it’s been in the championship for a while.
“They have innovation on the car this year with a rear wing and exhaust that we’ve all copied as a result of it.
“It’s a team that’s doing brilliantly, so for me personally, there is no question that Fred is the right person to do this.”