'Mr Horner looking for a job' - Vasseur laments Ferrari distractions
Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur says he and his team are being undermined by relentless speculation over his future - and acknowledges "Mr [Christian] Horner looking for a job" as part of this.
Vasseur took over from Mattia Binotto at the helm of the Ferrari squad in 2023, but - like under his predecessor - Ferrari still has not been able to break through into genuine F1 title contention.
In 2026, a potential grid-best chassis has been neutered by a power unit deficit, which Vasseur again accentuated as the primary factor in his team's cars finishing fourth and sixth this weekend in Baku.
The race took place against the backdrop of a recent interview with The Times by ex-Red Bull boss Christian Horner, in which Horner claimed that, in terms of running an F1 team again, there was "only one team for which I would accept non-participation in ownership".
That team was implied to be Ferrari, which Horner described as "the dream" destination and "arguably the sleeping giant of F1".
When asked by The Race after the Azerbaijan GP about the noise surrounding his own future and Ferrari's F1 team leadership plans, Vasseur briefly pivoted from his usual jokey-and-deflective tone to make it clear he doesn't appreciate the situation.
"Ah, we are not working in the perfect serenity," he insisted. "For me firstly, but for everybody in the team. For the media, for 50% of the questions [to be] about this, I think it's a bit of a frustrating situation.
"We are fighting for P2 in the championship, and at the end of the day, we are all speaking a lot about this, and even for the guys in the garage, to discuss about this, it's the best discussion that we can have.
"But it is what it is, it's not in my hands. Mr Horner is looking for a job - that everybody knows - everywhere.
"But what can I do? Just try to do my best to push the team, to rise them to be motivated, focus on what is better today.
"Each interview, 25 times a day, we are coming back to this."
Vasseur also affirmed his commitment to Ferrari and "the best job in the world" - but also curiously added: "But it is like it is. We have still seven races to go, and I will push until the last corner."
On whether he would be open to working with Horner within Ferrari, he joked: "You have to ask my assistant."
