Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has opened up about his contract renewal, the turmoil that preceded it, and the impact of F1 media speculation on the performance and morale of the team.
The Frenchman had joined the Scuderia at the beginning of 2023 on what was then a three-year deal. Under his tenure so far, the historic team has not only experienced incredible highs but also astonishing lows.
Despite finishing only 14 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship last year, Ferrari’s performance in the first half of the 2025 season was noticeably underwhelming. From the double disqualification in China to the general shortcomings of the SF-25, the team’s struggles were further amplified by the fervent Italian media.
Prominent Italian publications, including La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere della Sera, had raised concerns back in June about Vasseur’s leadership and the prospect of Ferrari parting ways with the Frenchman at the end of this season.
Meanwhile, the Italian marque rubbished these rumours as pure “fantasy”, and both drivers came out in support of Vasseur and his vision for the team.
Fast forward one and a half months, and the 57-year-old has signed a multi-year contract extension, with Ferrari seeking to get back to winning ways when new technical regulations come into effect in 2026.
Vasseur blames clickbait culture for turmoil
In an interview with German magazine AMuS, Fred Vasseur steadfastly singled out F1 media as the root cause of the commotion that surrounded his future at the helm of Ferrari and the subsequent trajectory of the team.
Nonetheless, he refused to call into question the professionalism of all journalists and acknowledged how clickbait culture has made journalistic practices more hostile and sensationalist in recent times.
“Rumours caused the turmoil. I didn’t spread them, the media did. Neither Ferrari nor I said anything.
“But today, you can’t avoid this kind of distracting noise. I don’t want to lump all journalists together. But with the internet, reporting has become much more aggressive. There is pressure to generate clicks.”
Media chatter delayed Vasseur’s renewal
When the F1 paddock was abuzz with rumours that Fred Vasseur was at risk of losing his job, he was not the only Ferrari personnel to attract the ire of the Italian media. La Gazzetta dello Sport was particularly critical of the team’s new technical director, Loïc Serra, and lamented how he had failed to bring immediate improvements to the car.
Confessing how the misguided speculations ahead of the Canadian GP had left him irate, Vasseur defended Serra’s competence and revealed that the development of the SF-25 was already in an advanced stage when Mercedes’s former performance director had officially joined Ferrari in October last year.
The Frenchman also addressed the rumours involving Charles Leclerc and Mercedes and remarked how the media kept stoking the fire despite the Monégasque’s insistence that his long-term aspirations are written in red.
Taking the past few months into account, Vasseur acknowledged the negative impression the intense media scrutiny had left on Ferrari’s day-to-day operations and revealed that the off-track chatter delayed his eventual renewal.
“When these rumours first appeared in Canada, I was really angry. Because they went too far.
“My technical director Loïc Serra was accused of not doing a good job. But the 2025 car was practically finished when Loïc started working for us.
“The story with Charles Leclerc was similar. Some people regularly wrote that Charles was going to Mercedes. No one cared that he repeatedly confirmed he had a long-term contract with Ferrari.
“That has an impact on the team. In Italy, people tend to react more emotionally.
“Without all this noise, my talks with Ferrari would have gone much faster.”
Stability important for a team’s success
Asked if the delay in his contract renewal hurt Ferrari’s interests in any capacity, Fred Vasseur responded that sustained rumours surrounding a team or its personnel can have a detrimental impact on their performance.
Emphasising the speculations that have linked Max Verstappen to Mercedes and Red Bull’s ongoing podium-less streak, the Frenchman suggested that McLaren’s internal stability is instrumental in their recent success.
The Ferrari team principal also disclosed how he had opted to announce Lewis Hamilton’s signing before the start of the 2024 F1 campaign to allow Carlos Sainz enough time to process the situation and focus on his own performance for the remainder of the season.
“This isn’t about me. Things like this can cause people in the team to lose focus.
“Look at Red Bull and what’s happened there in recent weeks. There were only rumours about Verstappen. And that’s one of McLaren’s strengths. They have managed to stay out of all these stories and controversies.
“That’s why I announced Lewis [Hamilton]’s signing last year before the season started. If I had done that between Imola and Monte Carlo, many would’ve panicked. That way, Carlos [Sainz] was in the picture from the start and was able to digest the situation before everything started. His focus was on his job.”
Co-author: Chiara Schulte Genannt Hobein
