Frederic Vasseur, the team principal of Ferrari in Formula 1, has stated that certain Italian media outlets are “hurting” his team with their reporting and are a contributing factor in preventing them from winning championships. His comments come after a wave of speculation about his own future, which emerged following a disappointing start to the 2025 season, despite earlier expectations for Ferrari to contend for titles after Lewis Hamilton`s move to partner Charles Leclerc.
During the Canadian Grand Prix, when questioned about the speculation regarding his position, Vasseur noted that he personally could handle the pressure. However, he suggested that “disrespectful” and “very harsh” speculation concerning other Ferrari team members was destabilizing the squad.
“It`s some of the Italian media, not all of them,” Vasseur clarified. “It`s not about myself because I can manage this, it`s more about the people of the team. To use their name like this is disrespectful to them and their families.”
He expressed confusion about the media`s objectives, speculating that it might be an attempt “to give **** to the team” or perhaps “the only way for them (publications) to exist.”
“But it still hurts the team. At one stage, it`s a lack of focus. When you`re fighting for the championship, every single detail makes a difference. From the beginning of the weekend, we`ve just been speaking about this. If their target was to put the team in this situation, they have reached their goal,” Vasseur emphasized.
“It`s not like this that we can win a championship, at least not with this kind of journalist around us,” he added.
Vasseur acknowledged that being a team principal involves exposure, but stressed that it`s much harder for his subordinates to deal with such pressure. “To decide one day `this one will be replaced, this one is useless.` Honestly, it`s very harsh. These journalists need to consider these people have family. This is completely disrespectful,” he asserted.
“We Didn`t Do a Good Job”
Since Vasseur took over at Ferrari in early 2023, the team has largely been on an upward trajectory. Last season, they missed out on the Constructors` title to McLaren by just 14 points.
A strong finish to 2024, coupled with the blockbuster signing of seven-time world champion Hamilton to partner Leclerc, had raised hopes for a first Constructors` triumph since 2008, or a first Drivers` title since Kimi Raikkonen`s 2007 victory.
However, Ferrari has yet to win a Grand Prix this season, and Leclerc has secured all three of the team`s podium finishes. As a result, the team is currently battling Mercedes and Red Bull for second place.
Vasseur admitted: “The initial goal was to fight for the championship. I think that`s true for us, Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren – we were all in this mindset to fight for the championship at the start of the season. Compared to those expectations, McLaren has made a great step forward compared to everybody, and we didn`t do a good job on our side in the first couple of races.”
In addition to the pressure on Vasseur, Italian media also circulated rumors about Leclerc`s potential departure, despite his public statements about wanting to stay and win with Ferrari.
“Charles has a long-term contract with us. In every single interview from the beginning of the season, he`s saying that he wants to stay with Ferrari, he wants to win with Ferrari, his future is with Ferrari,” Vasseur said. “But every single Monday, we have an article saying `Charles will go next year.`”
“At one stage, I don`t know what we have to do. I`m sorry, and I can`t repeat the same things every single weekend. It is what it is,” he added.
“Now with Lewis and Charles, I think we have a good relationship altogether. We have a clear target. We know that we have to work and we know that we have to push. The mood in the team is very good. This is the basic if you want to recover and to win. But everything is there. Everything is on the table to do a good job, and together we are working well,” Vasseur concluded.
