Ferrari have 'Plan B' to replace Lewis Hamilton's boss but there is a problem

Vasseur and Hamilton during interviews — Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

Ferrari have 'Plan B' to replace Lewis Hamilton's boss but there is a problem

Time to move on to Plan C?

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Tuesday 22 September 2026 08:58

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Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is under massive scrutiny right now, but there is a problem with the team's 'plan B' if he were to exit his role, according to Italian journalist Giorgio Teruzzi.

It has been a very tough month for Ferrari, who have found themselves in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons since F1's return from the summer break.

When F1 action paused for the summer, Lewis Hamilton remained in the hunt for an eighth world championship and the most likely challenger to Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli.

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However, just three grands prix later, the 50-point deficit he faced at the time has more than doubled to 101, while there has also been huge intra-team tension between the seven-time champion and Charles Leclerc after run-ins at the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix.

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The problem with Ferrari's 'plan B'

With nine rounds of the season remaining, Hamilton remains mathematically in the hunt for the championship, but realistically, it would take a miracle to win it from here.

And, with his title hopes having faded, Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur has come under scrutiny for not making more decisive calls and declaring Hamilton as their number one driver this year, given his superior points position compared to his team-mate.

Now, in yet more Ferrari drama, Italian journalist Teruzzi has also claimed that Vasseur's relationship with Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna is 'non-existent'.

“It's an evergreen that comes up every year because the management is what it is," Teruzzi said on the Terruzzi Racconta YouTube channel.

"There is a relationship with [Benedetto] Vigna that is now non-existent.”

Teruzzi continued, outlining the problems with what is deemed Ferrari's 'plan B' - hiring Antonello Coletta in place of Vasseur.

Coletta has long been tipped as a future Ferrari team principal. He has been a Ferrari man since 1997 and currently leads their endurance racing division, where the team enjoyed recent success by winning the WEC constructors' championship in 2025.

Antonello Coletta has long been tipped as Fred Vasseur's replacement

However, Teruzzi has warned that running Ferrari's F1 operation is a different beast, and that Coletta is smart enough to know that, questioning why he would ever make the swap.

"In fact, there is a discussion underway," Teruzzi continued. "In the absence, in my opinion, in the absence of a plan B, because plan B is always the refrain of [Antonello] Coletta, who doesn't want to and doesn't have the experience.

“I mean, acting as the head of a team, he manages another racing squad with a car built by Dallara in a situation that is completely different to F1.

"Coletta, in my opinion, intelligently knows this, and why should he leave a position of dominance and prestige for a situation that could be criticised or might be easily called into question?"