'Exposed' Vasseur charges at media amid team turmoil reports
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur says he knew the spotlight would be unforgiving when he took charge of Formula 1’s most scrutinised outfit.
I’ve been in this business for 30 years. I knew perfectly that I will be exposed.- Frédéric Vasseur
Speaking to The Athletic, Vasseur reflected on the challenges of leading Ferrari, particularly this season, which has fallen short of expectations.
“I’ve been in this business for 30 years,” he said. “I knew perfectly that I will be exposed.”
After narrowly missing the Constructors’ title last year, Ferrari entered 2025 aiming to close the gap to McLaren.
Instead, the team has yet to win a race, and while McLaren has surged to the championship with a dominant car, Ferrari continues to fail at understanding the SF-25's intricacies.
Vasseur pointed to McLaren’s consistency as the decisive factor in the F1 2025 season.
“We are all oscillating up and down, but even when they are down, they are still there. And when they are up, they are flying,” he said.
According to the Frenchman there is no single “silver bullet” to explain the papaya team's superiority.
Though at the start of the season, with a second championship round Sprint win, reality seemed well on course to match expectations. One day later, however, Ferrari's season began to unravel.
The team was disqualified from the Chinese GP results, Hamilton due to excessive plank wear, and Charles Leclerc's car for being below the required minimum weight. Since then Ferrari have been forced to divert from a performance-optimised configuration to ensure their car remains within the boundaries of the regulations.
The lack of sporting results fuelled speculation about internal instability and doubts regarding Vasseur’s tenure as team principal, reports the Frenchman lambasted, describing them as “really hurting the team.”
“At the end of the day, this is mega negative for us,” Vasseur said.
“I know that we have to work with pressure, and we have to deal with pressure. It’s the DNA of our sport.
"But I think you have enough pressure on track to not get pressure at home. We know that we need to deliver. We need to get results.”
Ferrari reports emerge, as Horner chance looms
From Germany reports indicate that Vasseur's role as Ferrari team boss has once again come under pressure given President John Elkann's alleged desire to get rid of the Frenchman.
From Italy speculation surrounding potential tension within the Scuderia paints a picture of a broken team, which Vasseur himself stated was deeply frustrated.
And from Great Britian, Horner is placed as Elkann's target to replace Vasseur, something which has very little chance of happening.
Read also
GPblog's latest F1 Paddock Update
Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.
Popular on GPBlog
Sergio Perez to make F1 comeback at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix
McLaren on high alert as key weakness deemed unfixable in 2025
New juicy chapter unfolds in Russell–Verstappen 2024 war of words
