Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has voiced frustration at continued speculation about his position, days after a former rival team boss described the Ferrari role as a dream job.
What prompted this?
An interview published Thursday in which Christian Horner, removed as Red Bull chief executive and team principal last year, said the Ferrari job would be the dream. Horner had previously said any return to the sport would need to include a shareholding, and indicated he would make an exception for Ferrari. Asked about those comments after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Fred Vasseur responded at length.
What did he say?
That the team is not operating with the calm it needs, and that the disruption extends beyond him to everyone working there. He estimated that half the questions he receives concern his future, said the matter is not in his hands, noted that Horner is publicly looking for work in several places, and described returning to the subject repeatedly through every interview. He said his response is to keep pushing the team and that with seven races remaining he intends to do so until the final corner.
Is his position actually under threat?
Nothing indicates a decision has been made. Fred Vasseur signed a multi year contract last year, which would ordinarily settle the question and has not. Speculation about the Ferrari team principal role is close to a permanent feature of the sport regardless of results, and a rival figure expressing interest in a job is not evidence that the job is available.
How is the season going?
Mixed, trending down. Ferrari has won two races and sits second in the constructors’ standings, but 160 points behind Mercedes, which is not a competitive gap. More pressing is the recent run. The team has not reached a podium in five races, and a second placed constructor going that long without one suggests development has stalled relative to rivals rather than that results have been unlucky.
What have the drivers said?
Very little, pointedly. Lewis Hamilton, asked after finishing sixth in Baku whether he remains confident in the team’s direction under Fred Vasseur, said yes. Asked whether the team retains unity, he said yes again. Asked what can be done across the remaining races, he said keep trying. Three one word answers on a subject where elaboration was invited is itself a form of comment, though it can be read as loyalty or as fatigue.
Why does this pressure fall so heavily at Ferrari?
Because of the position the team occupies. Ferrari operates under scrutiny no other team faces, with a dedicated Italian press covering it daily and an expectation of championships that has not been met in the constructors’ standings since 2008. Team principals there have short average tenures, and the speculation cycle tends to begin well before any decision is taken.
Does the speculation cost anything?
That is his argument, and it is plausible. Development decisions, recruitment and driver confidence all depend partly on whether people expect current leadership to remain. Whether the distraction is significant enough to affect results is unprovable, but it is not an unreasonable thing for a team principal to raise.
What comes next?
Seven races, and a winter in which Ferrari will either extend its current structure or change it. Fred Vasseur has said he will work to the end of the season regardless.
