Possible Max twist in Mercedes contract call as 2026 F1 driver market shrinks again<\/a><\/p>\nLewis Hamilton says he doesn\u2019t know whether rumours that Christian Horner could take over the running of Ferrari are true.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Vasseur\u2019s principalship at Ferrari had been under a cloud earlier this year, when a flurry of media reports from Italy in June suggested he was set to be aced by the head of the brand\u2019s endurance racing division.<\/p>\n
It was a wild swing away from the Frenchman, who had been praised for taking Ferrari within just 14 points of what would have been an improbable constructors championship last year.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s downturn in form this season \u2014 while last year\u2019s chief rival, McLaren, blitzed the field on the way to a dominant title win last weekend \u2014 counted against him.<\/p>\n
But Vasseur and his drivers came out swinging against the reports, and the boss was re-signed at the end of July on a multiyear deal that should see him secure until the end of 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis ability to lead under pressure, embrace innovation and pursue performance aligns fully with Ferrari\u2019s values and long-term ambitions,\u201d Ferrari said at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder Fr\u00e9d\u2019s leadership Scuderia Ferrari is united, focused and committed to continuous improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust placed in him reflects the team\u2019s confidence in its strategic direction and reinforces a shared determination to deliver the results that Ferrari\u2019s fans, drivers and team members expect and deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton spoke out on claims that Christian Horner might take over the F1 team.Source: AFP<\/p>\n
But Vasseur\u2019s signature came at a time the team was optimistic upgrades brought to the races before the break would save the season, much as significant upgrades delivered Ferrari to the top of the pace rankings late last year.<\/p>\n
That revival hasn\u2019t materialised, leading to renewed swirling rumours about Vasseur\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a little bit distracting for us as a team,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cFor me it is really trying to keep the focus on the goal that\u2019s in front of us and building on next year\u2019s car, really continuing to build a foundation on this year so that next year we can have better execution, better overall performance \u2026 just having lots of meetings to make sure we\u2019re sailing in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team have made it clear where they stand in terms of re-signing Fred. Fred and I and the whole team are working really hard on the future of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s questionable whether Horner would be the right fit for Ferrari.<\/p>\n
Ferrari’s French team principal Frederic Vasseur ahead of this weekend\u2019s Grand Prix.Source: AFP<\/p>\n
While Horner is known to want to return to the paddock after his unceremonious and unexpected ousting, he is believed to want to own a stake in a team and thereby take more control over his own destiny.<\/p>\n
Part of his split with the Red Bull empire was reportedly the way he had amassed power of the brand\u2019s Formula 1 operations, putting himself at the centre of what the Austrian business sees as an arm of the brand\u2019s sporting investments.<\/p>\n
Haas boss Ayao Komatsu had confirmed Horner had approached the American team recently but had been rebuffed, with Gene Haas intent on retaining full ownership of his squad. Aston Martin has also confirmed talks but has denied Horner will join the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks as though Christian\u2019s ringing up pretty much every team owner at the moment,\u201d CEO Andy Cowell said.<\/p>\n
Rumours \u2014 though they remain only that \u2014 have linked Horner most closely to Alpine, where Renault is believed to be open to selling a large stake in the team.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s difficult to imagine a scenario in which Horner gets that level of control at Ferrari, a publicly listed company that has historically treated its principals as employees rather than managers.<\/p>\n
Horner, for example, had more power at Red Bull Racing, where he was team principal and CEO, than Vasseur does at Ferrari, where he answers to CEO Benedetto Vigna.<\/p>\n
But Ferrari retains an allure not just for drivers but for anyone involved in motor racing. Perhaps Horner also feels that attraction despite the broader purpose he\u2019s said to have for the next chapter of his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton says he doesn\u2019t know whether rumours that Christian Horner could take over the running of Ferrari…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[2620,2095,53234,16188,64,14017,63,18261,2042,133786,24562,23062,13275,1199,133788,19018,133792,14210,133586,2057,817,133791,813,816,18894,133789,133784,2101,2328,2097,1737,133787,133785,20590,2041,2067,122764,133568,133790,2119,3595,85,64514,41547,13773,3370,2614],"class_list":["post-219128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-agence-france-presse","tag-america","tag-american-team","tag-andy-cowell","tag-au","tag-austin","tag-australia","tag-austrian-business","tag-benedetto-vigna","tag-bombshell-signing","tag-british-driver","tag-british-team","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-christian-horner","tag-constructors-world-titles","tag-daily-mail","tag-dominant-title-win","tag-driver-market","tag-driver-wasteland","tag-europe","tag-f1","tag-finals-permutation","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-frederic-vasseur","tag-french-team-principal","tag-improbable-constructors-championship","tag-italian-team","tag-italy","tag-john-elkann","tag-lando-norris","tag-media-reports","tag-multimillion-dollar-exit-package","tag-news-conference","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oscar-watches","tag-pace-rankings","tag-performance-aligns","tag-pit-talk","tag-southern-europe","tag-sports","tag-team-members","tag-team-owner","tag-team-principal","tag-texas","tag-united-states-of-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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