Lewis Hamilton has quashed speculation about Fred Vasseur’s future as Ferrari’s team principal, however, he questioned whether Ferrari’s hierarchy is what the Scuderia needs “moving forward”.
Not for the first time since he joined Ferrari in 2023, whispers that Vasseur’s position as team principal is under threat have grown louder.
Lewis Hamilton backs Fred Vasseur amid Ferrari leadership speculation
The Frenchman has yet to secure a drivers’ world title with Ferrari, extending its drought to 24 years, while under his tenure the team has also fallen short in the constructors’ championship.
It has led to speculation about Vasseur’s future as he nears the end of his fourth season in charge.
Over the weekend of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, multiple sources told PlanetF1.com that Ferrari is eyeing a succession plan that would include a ‘stage-managed’ exit to ease Vasseur out of his role as team principal.
Although Vasseur re-signed with Ferrari last season, the suggestion is that the 58-year-old will be allowed to step back from the demanding role of Ferrari team principal to either take a different internal position or split altogether.
Ferrari took the unusual step of hosting a media briefing in the days building up to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
“In the recent days, there has been increasing speculation surrounding Scuderia Ferrari HP, and particularly dedicated to its leadership,” said Ferrari’s chief communication officer Maria Conti.
“Ferrari’s position is clear, has not changed, and Ferrari has made its choices already, and we have full confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so.”
She went on to state that the Ferrari press conference was “not just related to the story in The Times of Mr Horner”, who said in the interview that it would be a “dream job” to lead Ferrari, but it was “in general as there is a lot of speculation about Fred”.
Hamilton has previously spoken about Vasseur’s influence in his decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari, and more recently called out the lack of leadership when it comes to the team’s rules of engagement, saying that “it starts with Fred”.
But despite his recent criticism of the Ferrari team principal, he brushed aside speculation that Vassuer’s days are numbered.
“I don’t read all that stuff, so it has zero effect on me but of course, when I come into the room and see it definitely affects individuals in the team because every weekend they try and show up and do the best job they can and don’t get it right all the time,” he told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media in Sepang
“And you know, when your families are messaging you, they’re reading all the negative things that they’re reading, when the people back in the factory are reading all those things, even though they’re giving it their all, it’s like there’s nothing even when you’re giving it all.
“So, I just thought for me the message is to not read any of the stuff that’s being written, because the fact is nobody that’s writing any of the stuff has actually any clue what they’re talking about because they’re not in the team.
“They don’t know what’s happening behind closed doors they don’t know how hard everybody is working. It’s all done through assumptions and opinions.
“So that’s just me, it’s frustrating to see.
“What we’re going to do is just continue to try and focus on doing the best job we can, regardless of what’s written. We will get to where we want to be.”
But that doesn’t mean Hamilton believes Ferrari’s hierarchy is perfect.
“Structure, I think, is very important, and therefore stability, ultimately having everyone rowing in the same direction, I think is key in any business,” he said. “I think Fred has the full backing.”
Pressed further, Hamilton added: “There often seems to be a lot of focus on one individual in one role always here, and you can see they’ve obviously switched out lots of different people in Fred’s role, but Fred is a fantastic leader. He really is the guy to take this team in the right direction.
“However, there is a structure that’s been there for some time. Whether or not that needs looking at moving forward… There are obviously also people above Fred, and it’s not about one person.
“Fred has led the team, he’s helped make changes in this past year. He’s helped us get to the second Constructors’ Championship – that’s a huge step from last year.
“The deficit we have is simply just on engine, and that’s something we don’t shy away from. We know that every weekend we carry a four-tenths deficit – if not sometimes six-tenths just in straight line power.
“We’re aware of it, and that’s something we need to try and work on. And we’re they’re working extremely hard to try and fix that for next year.
“Everybody else is working so hard within the team back at the factory and at the track every weekend.
“It’s frustrating to see all the negativity because you see other people making mistakes and they don’t normally says too much about them.
“We either make the same mistake or are not perfect, and we know we’re not. And it’s 10 times [worse] for us, for some reason, for Ferrari, but that’s also to be expected, given that it’s the best brand here. It’s the most iconic by far.”
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As for his teammate Charles Leclerc, he made it clear that “I trust Fred and how important he is for the team.
The Ferrari stalwart, who joined the team in 2019, added: “We have a very special relationship, but over that, I think he’s extremely capable in what he does. I think he’s been extremely valuable so far, [and] he will be extremely valuable in the years to come as well.
“I think there was never any doubt inside the team that he has all of our support. Then sometimes it’s needed to make it clear to the outside world as well. I just wish that sometimes there were less of these silly rumours going around.
“By definition, I think you don’t spend time speaking about the right things. At the factory, we need absolutely everything to be pushing in the same direction. If you have these kinds of rumours, you spend maybe a bit more time speaking about these kinds of things, which is not nice.
“Fred first, and all of us inside the team, we are pushing ourselves to the limits and I find it a little bit disrespectful to see so many rumours,” he said.
“It’s part of our job to take criticism, but when you spread these kinds of things over and over, I think at one point, it’s just not so respectful.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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