How Ferrari sources responded to wave of Fred Vasseur sack rumours before the Canadian Grand Prix

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has come under fresh pressure on the eve of the Canadian Grand Prix. There are escalating rumours in Italy that his job could be at risk.

Ferrari are second in the constructors’ championship, the same position they finished last year, but they enter the Montreal weekend 197 points behind McLaren. Barring a miraculous turnaround, they will fail to achieve their main goal this season – winning a championship.

One report on Thursday claimed that Vasseur has just three races to save himself. That would mean a decision before the summer break.

Even though he’s out of contract at the end of the season, Ferrari haven’t held any talks with Vasseur over a new deal. The Frenchman joined in 2023 after a stint at Sauber, replacing Mattia Binotto.

Ferrari refused to ‘dignify’ speculation about Fred Vasseur

Speaking on the Pit Pass F1 podcast from the Canadian Grand Prix paddock, journalist Chris Medland relayed Ferrari’s ‘firm response’ to the rumours. They wouldn’t ‘dignify them with a comment’.

While Medland noted that this wasn’t ‘a denial’, it does suggest that the Scuderia view the reports as ridiculous. Lewis Hamilton firmly backed Vasseur in the pre-race press conference on Thursday.

Hamilton said his former junior team boss was ‘the main reason’ he was able to join Ferrari. And he reiterated his belief that the 57-year-old will take them ‘to the top’.

“It did mean questions going to Ferrari about the validity of those reports,” Medland said. “The team [were] saying that they didn’t feel that they warranted comment.

“They weren’t even going to dignify them with a comment, which I must say is not a denial, is it? It’s just a way of dodging commenting on it. But I do believe that it was an intentionally firm response, that they weren’t happy about it.”

John Elkann is ‘obsessed’ with the idea of one Fred Vasseur replacement

It is suspicious that multiple stories about Vasseur emerged at the same time. But it’s unclear where exactly the information is coming from.

Indeed, The Race suggest that team staff, or even the top management, could be speaking out against him through the press. And if they’re not being directly critical, they may have stopped defending him with the same passion as before.

Ferrari fans have hit out at Vasseur for playing down the scale of the team’s problems. He may feel that it’s his duty to maintain calm.

On Thursday, Ferrari’s WEC boss Antonello Coletta emerged as a contender for the role. He’ll oversee the team’s participation in the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend.

Chairman John Elkann is ‘obsessed’ with signing Christian Horner, but the Englishman intends to stay at Red Bull. That means he may have to recruit internally if he does decide to make a change.