Vasseur: It’s some Italian media, not all

The Italian team arrived at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve under pressure following an underwhelming opening nine rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 season. While Lewis Hamilton’s sprint victory in Shanghai remains a highlight, the seven-time world champion has struggled to extract performance from the Ferrari SF-25. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc has delivered three podiums but remains winless.

In the past week, major Italian media outlets critical of Ferrari F1 boss Fred Vasseur, including heavy hitters La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere della Sera.

These publications have raised concerns about Vasseur’s leadership, with Corriere della Sera suggesting his position is precarious due to Ferrari’s slow start to the 2025 season and even linking Ferrari’s endurance racing boss, Antonello Coletta, as a potential replacement.

La Gazzetta dello Sport also debated the underwhelming impact of technical director Loïc Serra, who joined from Mercedes. And that's before a wheel even turned at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

On Friday, Ferrari’s woes deepened early in the first practice session, when Leclerc crashed heavily in Turn 3. The impact damaged the chassis and ruled him out of FP2, with the team forced to fit a new monocoque. Hamilton, a record seven-time winner in Canada, ended the day eighth fastest.

Against this backdrop, Italian media criticism of Vasseur bubbles. Both drivers publicly backed the Frenchman, and Vasseur himself addressed the scrutiny during the Team Principals' press conference.

Asked for his view on the media attacks, Vasseur was candid: "I have to stay calm because I will have to finish with the stewards. It’s some Italian media, not all. It’s not about myself, I can manage that. It’s more about the people in the team.

"To throw their names around like this is disrespectful, for them and for their families. We had this last year with our chief of aero, and again this season. I don’t understand the target. Maybe it’s the only way for them to exist. But if the goal was to destabilise the team, they’ve succeeded, and that hurts."

On whether such scrutiny comes with leading Ferrari, Vasseur added: "I knew when I took the position that I would be exposed. That’s fine. What’s harder is seeing it affect others. These people work very hard, and then a journalist writes that someone will be replaced or is useless. These are real people with families. It’s completely disrespectful."

Ferrari chairman John Elkann has reportedly maintained close contact with the team amid their title challenge faltering. Asked about the current dialogue, Vasseur said: "The initial goal was to fight for the championship, and that was true for us, for McLaren, for Red Bull, for Mercedes.

"But we didn’t do a good enough job at the start. We had setbacks, like the disqualification in China. That said, we’ve recovered well against Red Bull and Mercedes, though McLaren are still ahead. If you want to win a title, you can’t leave points on the table, and we have."

When asked to pinpoint where Ferrari has gone wrong, Vasseur replied: "It’s not just about pit stops. Yes, we’ve improved operationally, strategy, pit stops, reliability. But the target isn’t just to be good. It’s to be better than the others. McLaren had a rough 2022 and 2023, but they stayed focused, worked on their own, and they’ve improved. That’s what we must do."

Vasseur also responded to questions about the commitment of his drivers amid persistent speculation about their futures: "Charles has made it clear many times, he wants to win with Ferrari. Every Monday, though, there’s a rumour that he’s leaving. I can’t keep repeating the same thing every week.

"With both Lewis and Charles, the relationship is strong, and we’re working well together. That’s the foundation for any recovery," insisted the 57-year-old Frenchman.

Hamilton and Leclerc also defended the team boss in media sessions, support that Vasseur acknowledged meant a great deal: "We are working toward a shared goal. It’s not about me, I’m exposed and I can handle that. But it’s more painful when it impacts the people in the garage and factory. They work day and night, and these stories put real stress on them. It’s too much."

As for how he manages the fallout, Vasseur said: "On Monday morning, I’ll go and speak to the team and tell them it’s not true. But I’m not a fireman. It’s about basic respect. Some journalists speculate on recruitment, but that means there’s already someone in that role who reads that they’re being replaced. That’s unacceptable."

Turning to the balance between developing the current car alongside the 2026 project, Vasseur admitted it is a delicate decision: "Every team is dealing with the same issue, when to switch fully to the next year’s car. The gains in the wind tunnel are bigger with the new regulations. But that’s the game, we knew it would be like this."

Despite the noise and early drama, Vasseur insists Ferrari is better placed than it was 12 months ago.
"At least we won’t do worse than last year, it was a double DNF. The pace on Friday was okay before Charles’s crash. We’ve made progress since the start of the season. We’re not at McLaren’s level yet, but we’re on the right track. That’s our target, not looking behind, but chasing them."