Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali says he has spoken to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur as speculation swirls over his future.

And relaying his message for Vasseur to the wider world, Domenicali – who served as Ferrari team principal from 2008-2014 – said “I believe” in Vasseur as he urged the press to stop with the rumours and let Ferrari return to the F1 summit under Vasseur’s leadership.

Fred Vasseur: The man to lead Ferrari to the top?

After pushing McLaren to a 2024 Constructors’ title-decider in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari had hoped to press on from there in search of a first F1 championship since 2008, the acquisition of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton designed to be a further boost.

But Ferrari has regressed compared to McLaren as while their rivals in papaya have emerged as runaway F1 2025 championship leaders, Ferrari has scored just three podium results – all courtesy of Charles Leclerc – while Hamilton claimed their only form of victory by winning the China Sprint.

And ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Vasseur’s Ferrari future was called into question by the Italian press, while a report in Germany claimed that Ferrari had approached Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, which PlanetF1.com understands to be accurate.

In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com, however, Horner dismissed any suggestion of a Red Bull departure.

The talk surrounding Leclerc and Ferrari drew a statement from former team boss Stefano Domenicali, who put his support for Vasseur on record and warned the media to back off.

Speaking to France’s L’Equipe, Domenicali said of Vasseur: “He is doing a great job and he must remain focused and strong on his objective.

“He must disconnect from this external pressure and save all of his energy to continue his work.

“I told him, and now I tell you officially – I believe in him. He must not fall into the trap of weakening in the face of these attacks, because there are always some.

“Let him work in peace – that’s how Ferrari will return to the top.”

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Speaking to the media following the Canadian Grand Prix, Vasseur echoed Domenicali’s comments about the need to leave Ferrari in peace to thrive, stressing that a “distracted” Ferrari is not a winning team.

“This is putting a kind of… tension is not the right word, but entropy or distraction into the team,” Vasseur stressed.

“And at the end of the day, we are in a competition with other teams, and if we are distracted or not focused on the right thing, we will lose the competition.”

Ferrari sit P3 in the Constructors’ Championship – 191 points behind McLaren – after 10 rounds of the F1 2025 season.

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