Fred Vasseur has spoken out on the recent rumours of his position at Ferrari. Image: XPB Images
The Ferrari team principal faced another round of questions about his position on Friday at Sepang, days after the team took the unusual step of publicly reaffirming its support for him.
The latest round of speculation followed comments from former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who said Ferrari was the only F1 operation he would consider joining without an ownership stake and described the opportunity as “the dream”.
There has been no suggestion Ferrari has approached Horner, but his remarks brought further attention to Vasseur’s position following a difficult recent run for the Italian team.
Ferrari responded earlier this week through communications chief Maria Conti, who said its position had not shifted and made clear the message reflected the view of chairman John Elkann and chief executive Benedetto Vigna.
“Ferrari’s position is clear, has not changed, and Ferrari has made its choices already. We have confidence, full confidence, in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so,” Conti said.
The intervention was intended to prevent the discussion from dominating the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with Ferrari concerned the external attention was beginning to affect the atmosphere within the team.
Asked on Friday why such a public show of support had been required, Vasseur said the constant questions had become a distraction.
“When you see the noise and all the rumours in the press all the week, I think as a team we need to work in serenity, and it was absolutely not the case,” Vasseur said.
“I think the statement was mandatory to do something, or it would have been the same this weekend.
“But honestly, the big issue that we have today is the stability, the serenity into the team, the focus that we need to have, and not to have this kind of question all the day.”
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Vasseur said he expected scrutiny to come with leading Ferrari, but admitted some of the criticism had gone beyond what he considered reasonable.
“When you take the role, you know the positive and the negative side of the job. I was expecting something like this,” Vasseur said.
“What is sometimes a bit unfair is when you put someone under the bus, and I’m there also to defend my team, my guys.
“As I said before, when we are winning, we are winning as a team, but when we are struggling, I’m there to defend all of them.”
He added that while the pressure itself had not surprised him, some of the attacks had become personal.
“Honestly, I knew what I would get on that. I’m not surprised at all, but sometimes the attacks are a bit personal. It’s not good.
“We need friendly media.”
Vasseur agreed a multi-year Ferrari extension in 2025 which is understood to run through at least 2027, but his position has again attracted attention as the team’s form has dipped in recent races.
The Scuderia remains second in the constructors’ championship and has won twice this season, although its inability to sustain its strongest form has increased scrutiny around the operation.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc backed Vasseur ahead of Friday’s running, with Hamilton insisting Ferrari’s difficulties could not be placed on one person.
“Ultimately, it’s not a one-man operation,” Hamilton said.
“If you want to point fingers, point them somewhere else. There are lot of people above that also are a part of it.
“So if you want to take something from this message: Fred’s in his position, he’s not going anywhere and I’m here to stay with him. And I still believe fully in where we’re going.”
Hamilton also suggested there were elements of Ferrari’s wider structure he would change, although he stopped short of detailing what those changes would be.
Those comments prompted Vasseur to be asked whether the organisation around him needed to evolve and whether he had sufficient authority from those above him.
The Frenchman rejected the idea of singling out individuals and instead stressed that Ferrari’s progress or setbacks had to be treated collectively.
“On the comment of Lewis, I think it would be a mistake to finger-point someone or something or whatever,” Vasseur said.
“In the good moments, we are winning as a team. In the bad moments, we are suffering as a team, and I don’t want to speak about a single individual or whatever.
“Honestly, I think it would be a huge mistake to start to not be unified.”
Vasseur acknowledged Ferrari still needed to improve and said developing the organisation was an ongoing process rather than something that could be reduced to one structural change.
“We had a good beginning of the season. For sure, it’s not enough. We want to get more, we want to win more, we want to win the championship,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, we had a positive start. We are struggling the last couple of races, but we are hoping to come back soon with development and to be back into the pace.”
Ferrari at least found some respite on track on Friday, with Leclerc topping FP2 at Sepang ahead of Isack Hadjar.