Ferrari held an unscheduled media briefing ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix to publicly declare full confidence in team principal Fred Vasseur, directly responding to mounting speculation fueled by comments from former Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
Chief Communication Officer Maria Conti addressed selected media on Tuesday morning, stating the team’s position in unambiguous terms. “Ferrari has made its choices already. We have full confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team and we continue to do so,” Conti said. “At this time, it’s really important that the team remains united and cohesive, and we focused all the energy on the work ahead.”
The briefing was called in direct response to remarks Horner made in The Times newspaper while promoting his new book, in which he described Ferrari as his “dream” destination. The comments reignited persistent speculation about Vasseur’s position at the Scuderia, which has intensified during a difficult run of form — Ferrari have failed to score a podium in any of the last five races, though they remain second in the Constructors’ Championship behind Mercedes.
Vasseur addressed the situation during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend in Baku, making clear his frustration with the distraction. “We are not working in the perfect serenity,” he said. “For me, first, but for everybody in the team, for the media, for 50% of the questions to be about this, it’s a bit of a frustrating situation. We are fighting for P2 in the championship, and at the end of the day, we are all speaking a lot about this.”
The Ferrari principal was direct about Horner’s role in the speculation. “Mr Horner is looking for a job — that everybody knows — everywhere. But what can I do? Just try to do my best to push the team, to rise them to be motivated, focus on what is better today.”
Conti confirmed the statement carries the backing of Ferrari’s top management, including Chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna. She said Ferrari acted because the volume of social media speculation was escalating rather than subsiding, and the team wanted the upcoming Malaysian race weekend to center on performance rather than what she called “gossip and speculation.”
“This is why we really want to avoid, and we do not intend to fuel, speculation or comment on assumption coming from outside the company,” Conti said.
Vasseur has led Ferrari since the start of the 2023 season. During his tenure, Charles Leclerc signed a long-term extension committing his future to the team into the 2030s, and Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes — where he won six of his seven world titles — to join the Scuderia. Ferrari fought for the Constructors’ Championship until the final race of the 2024 season, and both Leclerc and Hamilton have each secured a race victory in the current campaign.