Ferrari has moved to silence speculation about Fred Vasseur’s future as team principal after declaring its “full confidence” in him.
The unusual move to assert its stance came in a hastily arranged press call on Tuesday, as the Italian team reacted to what it said was a growing media "storm" triggered by comments from former Red Bull boss Christian Horner that were published last weekend.
Horner had told The Times, as part of a piece to publicise his new book, that Ferrari was the only team he would be willing to work at without having part-ownership.
Those comments were enough to fuel talk about Horner being a potential candidate to replace Vasseur, whose role at the squad has been under scrutiny for several races now.
While such speculation about change at the top is nothing new at Ferrari, what is different this time is that Vasseur thinks it has started damaging the team.
He said after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that it was a “frustrating” situation where he was constantly being asked about his future and that was impacting the mood in the garage.
“We are not working in the perfect serenity," he lamented.
It was this consequence that Ferrari said was the reason why it has chosen to go public and declare its full support for Vasseur.
Maria Conti, Ferrari’s chief communications officer, told selected media: “Ferrari's position is clear, has not changed, and Ferrari has made its choices already. We have confidence, full confidence, in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so.”
Conti emphasised that this was a time when Ferrari needed to remain “united and cohesive”, which is why it wanted to kill the rumours off before the next race.
“We would like to avoid that the next weekend in Malaysia will be focused only on this kind of gossip and speculation,” Conti said.
An unusual step
F1 teams are normally reluctant to issue statements or speak at length to deny speculation that has appeared in the media.
Such moves are often counterproductive as they only serve to further fuel rumours.
It is also well known in sport, too, especially football, that any time a manager has the full backing of the board it can often actually signal a sacking is close at hand.
Ferrari explained that it had decided to go public with its support of Vasseur on this occasion because of the impact that the rumours were having on the team, plus the fact that the story seemed to be getting bigger rather than fading away.
Conti said that Ferrari was used to many “storms of communication” – as she referenced the controversy that had come from the launch earlier this year of the Ferrari Luce electric car.
But Ferrari felt that things had been getting out of control after the Azerbaijan GP.
“The fact is that after the race and on Sunday and yesterday, this power of communication was increasing,” she said. “Normally it is going down.
“Everybody - not just you guys, but also Italian media from all over the world - they are still creating a lot of different stories around Fred, and this is not useful. So this is why we decided to do that.”
Conti said that Ferrari’s move to deny speculation about Vasseur was not just about the fallout from Horner’s interview, but other stories that had emerged over recent weeks too.
“We do not intend to fuel speculation or comment on assumptions coming from outside the company,” she said.
“It is not just related to the story in The Times of Mr. Horner, but in general there was other speculation also.”
But in a reference to the remarks where Horner spoke of the attraction of Ferrari, Conti said: “Ferrari has always attracted extraordinary interest, and it is only natural that many professionals aspire to be part of it.
"It is a reflection of the strength of what Ferrari really represents.”
Elkann and Vigna aligned
In recent history, it has been normal for Ferrari chairman John Elkann or CEO Benedetto Vigna to issue statements of support to quell such speculation.
Conti made clear that anything from them was unnecessary at this stage because her statement was made in full alignment with them.
“Ferrari's position is clear and does not change,” she said. “I don't have John and Benedetto with me, but I'm, of course, aligned with the top management, and Ferrari has made its choices.
“There is confidence in Fred Vasseur and his team. Nothing has changed, and we continue to do so. That's it.”
Asked why Elkann and Vigna had not said anything themselves on this occasion, Conti replied: “We were not expecting to do any call and so on because normally we are used to have a lot of communication around Ferrari, in many different areas, and not just Scuderia.
“So why, from any news, do we need to put the chairman and the CEO in front of the camera? I think it's enough, [to have] Maria.”
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