Frederic Vasseur has expressed frustration over the persistent chatter surrounding his position at Ferrari, acknowledging that the team cannot operate under ideal conditions while questions about his future continue to dominate headlines and conversations within the paddock.
The Ferrari team principal, who arrived from Sauber at the start of the 2023 season, has guided the Scuderia back to winning form this year following a difficult 2025 campaign. However, their challenge for the world championship against Mercedes has lost momentum in recent weeks, with the team enduring a five-race stretch without a podium finish.
The latest wave of speculation intensified after Christian Horner, the former Red Bull team principal, granted an interview to The Times in which he identified Ferrari as the sole Formula 1 team he would be willing to rejoin without securing an ownership stake—describing the role as the sport's ultimate "dream" position.
Following Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Ferrari's drivers secured fourth and sixth-place finishes, Vasseur was asked whether the external noise surrounding him and the team had begun to affect their performance and focus.
We are not working in perfect serenity. For me, first, but for everybody in the team, for the media, for the 50 per cent of the questions about this. I think it's a bit of a frustrating situation.
Vasseur went on to emphasise the distraction this creates across the entire operation. With Ferrari battling for second place in the constructors' championship, he stressed that the constant speculation diverts attention from the work that needs to be done on track.
We are fighting for P2 in the championship. At the end of the day, we are all speaking a lot about this, and even for the guys in the garage to discuss about this, it's not the best discussion that we can have.
According to Reuters, Vasseur publicly dismissed the speculation as a distraction after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, saying the issue was frustrating for the team and not helping the garage environment.
When pressed on whether the situation remained beyond his control, Vasseur acknowledged the limits of his influence.
But it is what it is, it's not in my hands.
The Ferrari boss then addressed Horner's comments directly, pointing out that the former Red Bull leader is actively seeking a new role in the sport.
Mr Horner is looking for a job. Everybody knows, everywhere. What can I do? I just try to do my best to push the team, to ask the team to be motivated, focus on what is better today, and not to spend time with gossips. In each interview, it will be 25 times a day.
Horner departed Red Bull in July 2025, and his name has continued to surface whenever a top team opens a discussion about leadership changes. However, multiple reports note that Ferrari has not indicated Horner is being considered as an immediate replacement for Vasseur.
Vasseur's commitment remains firm
Despite the swirling rumours, Vasseur signed a multi-year contract extension last year and has repeatedly stressed his unwavering commitment to the role. The 58-year-old Italian team is tasked with returning Ferrari to world championship glory for the first time since 2008—a goal that has eluded the Maranello outfit for nearly two decades.
For sure. The sport is my life, it's my business. I'm trying to do my best. For sure, I'm there to do my job. I have the best job in the world.
Vasseur's contract runs to the end of 2027, which is why the rumours are being treated as a leadership issue rather than an immediate vacancy. With seven races remaining in the 2026 season, he vowed to push the team to the finish line.
It is like it is. We still have seven races to go and we will push to the last corner.
Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion who joined Ferrari from Mercedes in 2025, has publicly credited Vasseur's presence as a central reason for his move to the Scuderia. The two worked together during Hamilton's junior career, and after the Baku race, Hamilton replied affirmatively when asked by Sky Sports F1 whether the team remained on a good path forward under Vasseur's leadership.
Earlier in the season, Vasseur pledged that Ferrari would return stronger after their Monza disappointment, vowing the team would arrive at Madrid's Spanish Grand Prix with renewed energy following a difficult home race where both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc struggled.
Horner's credentials cannot be ignored
While Ferrari has not indicated any formal review of its leadership, Sky Sports F1 pundit Jacques Villeneuve believes Horner's availability must be taken seriously by any top team considering a change.
The 1997 world champion highlighted Horner's track record at Red Bull, where he oversaw the construction of a dominant winning machine that claimed eight drivers' championships and six constructors' titles.
Christian Horner is someone you have to take seriously and under consideration because he built up the winning Red Bull team. He has a lot of very good and positive baggage, full of successes so you have to take that into consideration.
Villeneuve cautioned, however, that while Horner's presence should not be viewed as threatening to Vasseur's position, it does serve as a reminder that no role in Formula 1 is entirely secure.
I wouldn't say it's scary for who is in place, but you need to be on your toes.
The pundit also reflected on the instability that has characterised Ferrari's leadership in recent years. Vasseur became the team's fifth principal in nine years when he was appointed at the start of 2023, and the current campaign marks his fourth season in charge.
Ferrari is not an easy place to be. We have seen so many changes - two or three years, next one, because the results don't come. So you are always on an ejectable seat and you have to be careful.
According to reports from Grand Prix, Horner told The Times he would consider Ferrari the only F1 team worth joining without an ownership stake, calling it the "dream" and the "sleeping giant" of Formula 1. Yet coverage also indicates that the rumours intensified because Ferrari had a difficult weekend in Baku and remains under pressure despite Vasseur's multi-year deal.
What lies ahead for Ferrari
Ferrari's immediate focus is on the remaining seven races of the 2026 season, with the team pushing to improve their constructors' championship position and build momentum heading into the final stretch of the campaign. Horner has indicated he is open to a return to the F1 paddock, but no confirmed appointment or formal Ferrari review date has been announced.
The team heads to Malaysia for the first time since 2017 as Formula 1 hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit, with live coverage available from Friday morning on Sky Sports F1.
