Ferrari Publicly Backs Vasseur Amid Horner Speculation

Ferrari has moved to shut down speculation about Fred Vasseur’s future. In an impromptu media briefing on Tuesday, 29 September, the Scuderia restated its support for its team principal after days of headlines linking former Red Bull boss Christian Horner with the job. The message was blunt: “Ferrari’s position is clear, has not changed, and Ferrari has made its choices already. We have full confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so.”

Formula 1 attributes the comments to Ferrari chief communication officer Maria Conti. GrandPrix.com reports that the team also stressed the importance of internal unity and said it did not want to feed conjecture built on outside assumptions. The timing was deliberate, coming days before the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang.

How the speculation started

The latest round of questions began when Horner told The Times that Ferrari would be his dream destination. GrandPrix.com reports that he described Ferrari as the only team he would consider joining without an ownership stake and called Maranello “the sleeping giant of Formula 1.” His comments arrived alongside a memoir that has reopened old disputes from his Red Bull years, ensuring they received plenty of attention.

Vasseur’s response, reported by GrandPrix.com after the Azerbaijan race, showed his frustration. “It’s not easy to work in this atmosphere and have to answer the same questions 25 times a day,” he said, before adding pointedly: “Mr. Horner is looking for work. Everyone knows that. Anywhere.” He argued that the talk had overshadowed Ferrari’s actual weekend in Azerbaijan, where Charles Leclerc finished fourth and Lewis Hamilton sixth.

• Ferrari held an unscheduled media briefing on 29 September to back Vasseur.
• Horner had told The Times that Ferrari would be his dream job.
• Vasseur called the repeated questions a distraction and said Horner is “looking for work”.
• Ferrari is second in the Teams’ Championship with 378 points after Baku.
• Formula 1 notes the team has not scored a podium in the last five races.

Ferrari’s season in context

On paper, Ferrari’s campaign is respectable. The team sits second in the Teams’ Championship on 378 points, ahead of McLaren on 306, and both of its drivers are in the top five of the drivers’ standings. Hamilton is third on 199 points and Leclerc fifth on 179. That is a stronger position than several of Ferrari’s recent seasons at the same stage.

Yet the gap to Mercedes is large. The Silver Arrows lead the teams’ table on 538 points, and Ferrari’s recent form has dipped. Formula 1 reports that the team has gone five races without a podium. In Baku, Vasseur admitted that Ferrari lost more on the straights than expected, roughly two-tenths per lap, turning what could have been a podium fight into a defensive race. Hamilton said the team struggled to keep the tyres in the right window and needed to understand its energy deployment.

Those are the kinds of problems that feed speculation at a team with Ferrari’s profile and expectations. The Scuderia has not won the constructors’ title since 2008, and every dip in form invites questions about leadership. Formula 1’s Lawrence Barretto argues that blaming Vasseur alone would be unfair, pointing to the regular upgrades and structured development programme that have been evident this season.

Vasseur’s case

Vasseur joined Ferrari in 2023 and has faced recurring questions about his job security throughout his tenure. His supporters point to what he has built. Barretto credits him with providing the stability that helped persuade Charles Leclerc to commit his long-term future to the team and with playing a key role in bringing Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes. He has restructured internal departments and encouraged a willingness to take technical risks.

Changing team principal also carries risk. A new leader would need time to assess the organisation, might restructure again and would inherit a car programme already under way for 2027. Ferrari’s statement suggests the board believes continuity offers a better chance of success than another reset. Former Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene also warned, according to GrandPrix.com, that hiring a big-name manager would not automatically solve underlying problems.

Will the statement end the story?

GrandPrix.com notes that public votes of confidence rarely end Formula 1 rumours on their own. What ends them is results. Ferrari’s best route to quieting the noise is a strong run through the Asian rounds, starting with Sepang and Singapore, where hot conditions and different layouts will reveal whether the Baku deficit was track-specific.

• Whether Ferrari can return to the podium at Sepang or Singapore.
• How the team protects second place from McLaren over the remaining rounds.
• Whether Horner continues to comment publicly about the Ferrari role.
• What progress Ferrari shows on energy deployment and straight-line speed.
• How Hamilton and Leclerc describe the atmosphere inside the team.

For now, the official position is unambiguous. Ferrari has backed its team principal publicly and without qualification. That removes one source of distraction and allows Vasseur to concentrate on the job. Whether it truly settles matters will depend on how the car performs in the coming weeks, but the Scuderia has at least made its choice clear.

Why speculation spreads so quickly at Ferrari

Ferrari is the sport’s most famous team and the one most closely watched by the Italian media. Every setback is analysed and every rumour is amplified. When a high-profile figure such as Horner openly says the team is his dream job, the story quickly gains momentum regardless of whether any talks have taken place. Ferrari’s decision to respond with a formal briefing shows it recognised the need to stop the story before it affected the team’s work.

Vasseur has experienced this pressure before. Throughout his tenure there have been periodic suggestions that his position was under threat, usually after a run of poor results. Each time, the team has kept its faith in him. The latest statement is perhaps the clearest yet, with Ferrari saying outright that it has already made its choices.

There is also a competitive angle. Ferrari is fighting McLaren for second place in the Teams’ Championship, which carries both prestige and prize money. With 72 points separating the two teams after Baku, Ferrari has a cushion, but McLaren has shown strong pace this season. Keeping the team focused on that battle, rather than on management gossip, is exactly what the statement is designed to do.

Malaysian fans will have a close view of how Ferrari responds, with the team’s first outing since the statement coming at Sepang. A circuit that combines long straights with high-speed corners and punishing heat will be a revealing test, and a strong result there would be the most convincing reply Vasseur could give to his critics.