‘Alarm bells’ now ringing at £2.7bn-valued F1 team after Ferrari approach to replace Fred Vasseur

Fred Vasseur is facing an uncertain future in Maranello, with Ferrari now ‘dissatisfied’ with their team principal amid a disappointing start to the 2025 Formula 1 campaign.

The Scuderia were the second-best team on the grid at the end of last season, as Ferrari lost out on the F1 constructors’ championship to McLaren by just 14 points. Yet the pride of Italy already trail their rivals from Woking by 177 points after only the first eight rounds this year.

Charles Leclerc also took just Ferrari’s second Grand Prix podium of the 2025 F1 season so far last Sunday with second place in Monaco. Lewis Hamilton is yet to score a podium in any Grand Prix since joining the Scuderia, with his best results in the Sprints in China and Miami.

Ferrari will give up on 2025 if their imminent rear suspension upgrade fails, as well, with the Maranello squad ready to switch their focus to the 2026 F1 regulations. The Scuderia aim to introduce the upgrade to improve the SF-25’s rear stability at the Austrian GP on July 27-29.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner rejects Ferrari’s approach to replace Fred Vasseur

Tensions are brewing in Maranello given the Scuderia’s struggles, with Leclerc and Hamilton 82 and 98 points behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ standings. So, OE24 reports Ferrari have approached Red Bull team principal Christian Horner about replacing Vasseur.

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The Scuderia’s interest in Horner has seen Red Bull struggle to focus on this week’s Spanish Grand Prix, too. Even though Horner rejected Ferrari’s approach to replace Vasseur, ‘alarm bells’ are ringing in Milton Keynes given the uncertainty also surrounding Max Verstappen.

Horner has been in charge of Red Bull since the team’s foundation back in 2005 and has led the crew to eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles so far. Vasseur replaced Mattia Binotto at Ferrari during December 2022, since which they have won six Grands Prix.

Lewis Hamilton could cost Fred Vasseur his job as Ferrari’s team principal

OE24 notes that the ongoing dispute concerning Hamilton is another reason why the Ferrari hierarchy is growing ‘dissatisfied’ with Vasseur’s tenure. Tensions brewed between Hamilton and his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, again over Ferrari’s radio at the Monaco Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

Hamilton landed a grid penalty in Monaco after Adami’s incorrect message that Verstappen was on a slow lap in qualifying when the Red Bull racer was on a flying lap saw the 40-year-old inadvertently impede his rival. It was not even the only time tensions brewed last week.

The pair also clashed again during the race when Adami did not answer Hamilton’s question about if he was still a minute behind the leaders. Hamilton also asked his engineer, “Are you upset with me or something?”, after the race as Adami did not respond at all over the radio.

Now, the situation could come to harm Vasseur’s future, with Ferrari approaching Horner to leave the £2.7bn-valued Red Bull F1 team. Hamilton joining the Scuderia was a reunion with Vasseur, having won the 2006 GP2 title under him at ART, but the move has not yet paid off.