Ferrari supports Fred Vasseur as 2025 F1 pressure grows, with Leclerc frustrations and Italian media fuelling exit speculation.
Fred Vasseur insists he retains the support of Ferrari’s management and directly addressed the Italian public to call for calm within the Scuderia.
Throughout the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, the Frenchman was plagued by rumors suggesting that Ferrari’s underwhelming 2025 season so far might lead the Italian brand to consider not renewing his contract.
Michael Schmidt, a respected journalist from Auto Motor und Sport, reported on Sunday that he had heard of a face-to-face meeting between Ferrari chairman John Elkann and Red Bull’s Christian Horner, while the promotion of Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s WEC general manager, was also being considered.
When asked about this latest information, Horner refused to comment to the media after the race.
Moreover, despite their public support for Vasseur, drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have struggled to hide their frustration.
“The team knows my point of view,” Leclerc stated on Sunday evening, following disagreements with his team during both qualifying and the race.
“These rumors are a distraction, but I don’t think they’ll have a major impact.”
As for Hamilton, he noted that Ferrari’s upgrades seemed to have stalled and cryptically hinted that significant changes were taking place behind the scenes.
“It’s clear we need updates now, and I don’t understand why other teams are bringing them and we are not.”
“There is a lot happening behind the scenes right now. A lot of things are going to change.”
“Personally, I know we have no chance of winning the championship, but I’m trying to guide the team in the right direction to make the necessary changes and make our car competitive for next year.”
Vasseur disagrees with Hamilton on the urgency of 2025 car updates.
“They are coming soon, but I don’t think the updates are the main issue,” he responded.
“When you go purple in sector one during qualifying, it’s not because the car isn’t working or lacks updates. It means we’re not doing everything right. The most important thing is to focus on ourselves, and that’s not what we did this weekend.”
Vasseur was furious with certain Italian media outlets that fueled speculation about an uncertain future in red and the possibility of Leclerc jumping ship to Mercedes. So he gave an interview to Sky Italia to directly reassure the Italian audience.
“Is the company still behind me? Yes, because this is a non-existent issue. We are aligned and all moving in the same direction.”
“What we need is calm. I don’t want to have to fight with everyone, internally or externally. We need to be united and work as a team.”
“Look at Mercedes: they had three very difficult weekends, but they didn’t make any revolutions, and today they won. We are second in the championship, so I don’t see any drama or the end of the world.”
“Do we feel under attack because of the rumors? Were there strange mistakes from Leclerc and aggressive team radio? I don’t think the surrounding climate contributed to performance.”
“We are not under pressure, but there is tension. And in these conditions, when the battle is close, we cannot give our best. Neither we nor the drivers are in a calm state.”