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Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur took an indirect dig at the team's senior management while addressing rumors of his alleged exit in 2026. Vasseur stated that instead of speculating on his work as team principal, people must ask the right question as to why Ferrari has been struggling to win for years.
Ahead of the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix, Italian media reported that Ferrari is reconsidering whether to stick with Vasseur as team principal beyond the 2025 season.
His three-year contract is expiring at the end of the year, and the team's performance this year has also been inconsistent. In the constructors' championship, Ferrari is placed second with a 197-point deficit to McLaren.
However, during a press conference in Montreal, Vasseur bluntly rejected the rumors and instead attacked Italian media for 'disrespectful' reporting. Not only that, the team principal took a subtle dig at Ferrari's senior management.
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He opined that the Maranello-based squad's failure is not new. The team hasn't won in years, and perhaps the fans and journalists must ask the right questions and raise doubt over things that haven't been changed.
Talking to Canal+, Fred Vasseur said:
"We must ask ourselves the right questions if Ferrari hasn't won for years, we've changed the team principal, the drivers, we've changed everything except one thing."
Vasseur could possibly be hinting at the Ferrari senior management headed by chairman John Elkann, which has been the only constant since the last decade. Before Fred, the team also fired Mattia Binotto as team principal in 2023. However, things haven't changed much, as Ferrari is yet to win either a drivers' or constructors' championship title.
Apart from Vasseur, the Italian media also reported that Charles Leclerc is losing confidence in Ferrari and might exercise his exit clause to leave in 2026 and explore other options. However, earlier this week, Leclerc squashed the chatter, saying he is happy at the team.
Fred Vasseur rips apart journalists for 'disrespectful' reporting
Before the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix weekend began, chatter around Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and driver Charles Leclerc's alleged exit gained steam. However, the team boss wasn't impressed with the reporting and slammed journalists for showing disrespect.
He believes having such negative coverage around is not a good environment for any team fighting for a championship. Talking to Sky Sports, Vasseur said:
"It's some of the Italian media, not all of the Italian media. It's not about myself because this I can manage; it's more about the people of the team. To use their name like this is disrespectful to them and their family."
"I don't understand the target. Perhaps it's to give **** to the team. Perhaps for them (publications), it's the only way to exist. But it still hurts the team. At one stage it's a lack of focus. From the beginning of the weekend we have just been speaking about this. If it's their target to put the team in this situation, they have reached their goal."
Fred Vasseur added that as team principal, he is prepared to be in the line of fire. However, his colleagues back in the factory do not deserve to face uncertainty about their jobs through some media reports.
