Frederic Vasseur: Ferrari state 'full confidence' in F1 team principal after Christian Horner comments and speculation

Ferrari have reiterated their "full confidence" in Frederic Vasseur as team principal after speculation around his future was fuelled by Christian Horner suggesting interest in the role, with the Italian marque making clear it "has made its choices" around who leads the F1 team.

Vasseur admitted after last Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix that the team were "not working in perfect serenity" amid persistent and "frustrating" rumours around his position at the Scuderia.

That was amplified last week by an interview with Horner published in The Times in which the former Red Bull team principal said Ferrari were the only outfit he would consider returning to the pit-wall for without the ownership stake that he has been prioritising for any comeback to the sport.

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In the unusual step of a hastily arranged media briefing on Tuesday morning ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, a Ferrari spokeswoman made clear the company had full confidence in Vasseur to continue running their F1 operation.

"Ferrari's position is clear and unchanged," said the spokesperson.

"Ferrari has made its choices and has full confidence in the leadership of Fred Vasseur and his team and we will continue to do so.

"Ferrari has always attracted interest, it's a reflection of what Ferrari represents. We say this today because we want to avoid gossip and speculation in Malaysia and focus on the weekend."

The spokesperson said the team's statement was responding to "not only the piece with Mr Horner in The Times but subsequent stories that have been increasing, not dying down".

Vasseur is in his fourth season in charge since joining from Sauber from the start of 2023 and signed a multi-year contract extension last year.

Asked if Vasseur retained the full support of Ferrari chair John Elkann and chief executive Benedetto Vigna and would stay in post for the remainder of his contract, the spokesperson reiterated: "Ferrari's position is clear and unchanged.

"Ferrari has made its choices, it has confidence in Fred Vasseur and we continue to do so."

What's left for Ferrari to play for in 2026?

After a poor 2025 season for Ferrari, when they failed to win a race and slipped to fourth place in the Constructors' Championship, Vasseur has led them back to race-winning ways this year with two victories and they sit second in the Constructors' Championship.

But the Italian team's world championship challenge to Mercedes has faded in recent months and they have not finished on the podium in the last five races.

Lewis Hamilton is third in the Drivers' Championship behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and George Russell and all but ruled out his title hopes after Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix earlier in September, when he finished sixth.

Last week, Charles Leclerc and Hamilton finished fourth and sixth respectively in Baku, as the team slipped 160 points behind championship leaders Mercedes, although third-placed McLaren's failure to score any points meant Ferrari re-extended their advantage over the reigning champions to 72 points.

Ferrari have a scheduled eight races left to at least maintain their current championship positions, with Hamilton having insisted last week that a top-three finish in the drivers' would still represent a "huge achievement" for them given their troubles last season.

Formula 1 heads to Malaysia for the first time since 2017 as it hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit - watch live coverage from Friday morning, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime

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