Vasseur fails to understand the vote of confidence from Ferrari president – All is not well in Maranello. TJ13 reported recently there are rifts between senior engineers and the team principal Fred Vasseur. Add into the minis that Christian Horner is now available for hire and that The Scuderia have attempted to recruit him on more than one previous occasion.
As the summer break loomed at a sunny weekend on Budapest, Ferrari group president John Elkann gave an interview with f1.com where he was asked about the team’s poor season. At the time the Scuderia were sitting in second place behind McLaren but were a whopping 268 points adrift of the championship leaders.
Yet Ferrari had scored just five podiums across the first fourteen weekends of the year, their worst since 2023 when Red Bull dominated, then they had just four top three finishes across the same number of races. The difference was come Singapore and Ferrari were victorious, yet its hard to see either Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc claiming the top step of the podium over the remaining race weekends in 2025.
Elkann’s call for unity
“It’s a good moment to reflect on what has been a hard start and, more importantly, just put the right foundations forward for the second part of the season, and really make sure that everyone goes energised to have a good break, which is needed, and really come back strong in the Netherlands,” said Elkann.
This narrative which whilst sounding something of a corporate speech felt as though Elkann was issuing a message to the Ferrari team. “Ferrari wants to win, has won, will win, when it’s able to get everyone together. What’s important in Ferrari is not the individual, but it’s the individuals.
“Those individuals, when they work together, they can do incredible things. That has been very much the case in Formula 1.We all remember when we were victorious, and we were victorious because there was a very strong sense that incredible individuals – from our engineers, our mechanics, our pilots, our team principal – were really individuals that worked together.
“So it’s not about the individual, but it’s about the collective effort of great individuals who can achieve even more together,” Elkann concluded.
Hamilton unhappy with Ferrari internal workings
Given the reports in the Italian media this year which TJ13 continues to cover given the close relationship many of the journalists have to members of the team, this appeared to be a counter point to rumours of division. A call for those who have questioned the leadership of Vasseur to fall into line.
The call from Elkann for unity coincided with the weekend Fred Vasseur’s contract as team principal was extended and together the message was clear ‘Fred is here to stay.’ Yet rumblings continue and Lewis Hamilton has made clear he’s unhappy with how Ferrari have been working behind the scenes.
“I’ve sent documents; I’ve done [that] through the year”, revealed the seven times world champion. “After the first few races, I did a full document for the team. Then during this break, I had another two documents that I sent in, and so they would come in and want to address those.”
Lewis went on to reveal the content included suggestions of how the team could work better together, improve processes and procedures and given his experience a the record smashing Mercedes F1 team, it should be natural that those without a championship for almost two decades would receive with gratitude the details of how a winning machine operates.
Elkann’s surprise statement
Since then Ferrari have slipped to third in the champions and McLaren have won their second consecutive constructers title for the first time since 1992. A resurgent Max Verstappen has dragged Red Bull to just three points behind the Scuderia who despite celebrating a podium with Charles Leclerc at the recent US Grand Prix, look further behind on pace than before Elkann’s call for a reset.
Whilst the team were readying themselves for on track matters, John Elkann once again takes to centre stage. This follows rampant reports in Italy that Ferrari are talking with Christian Horner about taking over the role as team boss when’s garden leave from Red Bull expires in April next year.Speaking at an event in Washington which was unrelated to Formula One, Elkann broke away from his script to issue the supposed heart felt message. “I want to express our full confidence in our team principal, Fred Vasseur, and in the work he is carrying out together with all our colleagues at Scuderia Ferrari – the mechanics, engineers, and drivers competing this weekend in Austin.
“I also want to reaffirm the importance of teamwork by everyone to maintain focus on the only goal that matters: always giving our very best on the track,” concluded the Ferrari president. This out of the blue ‘vote of confidence’ was taken by many paddock folk maybe not as it was intended.
The dreaded vote of confidence
As is often the case in the management of sport’s teams, such as declaration from the team’s owner or directors is a sure sign the manager is about to get sacked. Given Elkann’s Italian heritage, this is unlikely the intention, yet another call for unity within the Ferrari team from the top clearly reveals something is wrong in Maranello.
Fred Vasseur was asked about the ‘dreaded vote of confidence’ and often the repercussions which follow, yet he remained firm in his view that his boss was merely sending encouragement to the team.“For everybody it’s good to have this kind of message,” he said. “But as we have a permanent contact, we already had the message, that it was more for the third party and external target.”
The Ferrari principal was pressed on how important this kind of statement was from the group’s president. “Yes, it’s important because like this you stop the discussion and you are focused on the next one and not to reply to all the questions about this.”
Not only has there been talk about Horner replacing Vasseur in Maranello, but also after seven long years with the Scuderia and little success, that Charles Leclerc now age 28 has been putting out feelers for 2027.
Bearman narrowly avoids race ban
There’s trouble in Maranello
Having the Ferrari group president having to repeatedly point t out the team’s historic success came from a group of unified individuals working together and then again reaffirming a second the time importance of unity sends one clear message. There’s trouble in Maranello – and its seems for now its not getting fixed. This is not in fact a vote of confidence as Vasseur believes.
Ferrari pushed McLaren hard in 2024 coming back from a 79 point deficit with six race weekends remaining to just 14 come Abu Dhabi. Yet the decision to scrap the SF-24 and build a “completely new car”, as Vasseur described it, has proven to be a major error as the promise for this year has long ago evaporated.
Despite a poor qualifying during the Sprint in Austin Texas, Ferrari turned things around come Saturday afternoon with their drivers starting the Grand Prix from third and fifth place. Indeed in scorching temperatures which usually favour McLaren, Charles Leclerc defended for much of the race against Lando Norris who eventually regained his starting place in the closing stages of the race.
This will give the team much hope as they head for Mexico this weekend, where McLaren have never won in the modern era which began in 2015 when F1 returned to Mexico City. Oscar Piastri’s form in Mexico to date has been hardly inspiring finishing with just two eight place classifications and a repeat would have major implications for the driver’s’ championship.
Tsunoda labelled “dangerous and desperate”
The Circuit of the Americas has hosted many iconic moments in Formula 1, but few could have predicted that this year’s US Grand Prix would feature a clash between the sport’s shortest driver and its youngest hopeful that looked more like an audition for Fast & Furious: Austin Drift. Yuki Tsunoda, ever the feisty teammate to Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing, found himself in the crosshairs of rookie Oliver Bearman of Haas F1. Emerging from the chaos, Bearman declared Tsunoda both “dangerous” and “desperate”.
Bearman had been enjoying a spirited race in his Haas, daring to dream of a top-seven finish, a result that would be considered somewhere between a podium and a small miracle for Haas. However, as he attempted to overtake Tsunoda on lap 35, his hopes were dashed. The Brit spun dramatically while Tsunoda continued, probably muttering something unprintable in two languages.
Bearman, however, was in no mood for forgiveness. In post-race interviews, he launched into what could only be described as an FIA-approved moral crusade….. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
