F1 News: Ferrari line up replacement for Lewis Hamilton boss accused of 'terrible relationship'

Fred Vasseur, Ferrari, Bahrain, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari F1

Ferrari line up replacement for Lewis Hamilton boss accused of 'terrible relationship'

The Maranello rumour mill is in overdrive

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Tuesday 29 September 2026 08:15

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Ferrari are looking to line up a successor for under-pressure team principal Fred Vasseur, but according to reports from Italy there are no guarantees it will be Christian Horner.

The 58-year-old Frenchman's role is the subject of growing speculation as the Scuderia's 2026 season continues to unravel.

As recently as early July, everything seemed to be trending in a northerly direction at Maranello after the team had closed the gap on the dominant Mercedes car and Lewis Hamilton was threatening to challenge for a record eighth world title.

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The red car had won two out of the last three races - through Hamilton in Barcelona and team-mate Charles Leclerc at Silverstone - and Hamilton trailed Italian prodigy Kimi Antonelli by just 32 points in the title race.

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Ferrari optimism disappears, replaced by tension and acrimony

Since that day, little has gone right for Ferrari with on-track performance faltering and the relationship between Hamilton and Leclerc causing much tension. Now any dreams of title challenges are but a distant memory.

Hamilton in particular has been critical of what he claims is a lack of rules of engagement for him and Leclerc. Those comments put the focus squarely on their boss Vasseur.

The Leclerc-Hamilton relationship has been in focus.

Now Italian media has provided what it claims is the inside story from Maranello, with Corriere della Sera describing Vasseur as 'tired and worn out'.

The newspaper claims that talk of Horner coming to Maranello to replace Vasseur is, for now, nothing more than 'a red herring'. It even claims Williams could be an acquisition target for the 52-year-old Englishman.

Vasseur and Vigna - 'a terrible relationship'

Corriere though does put the focus on what it claims are the strikes against Vasseur - notably what it describes as a "terrible relationship" with Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna.

The report says Vigna and Ferrari chairman John Elkann have been trying to persuade their highly successful head of endurance racing Antonello Coletta to move into the role, but to no avail.

For now the rumours continue to swirl over Maranello like an angry storm cloud, and the speculation over Vasseur's future continues to rage.

Corriere claims that insiders would not be shocked to see Vasseur ('tired and worn out') retire voluntarily at the end of 2026.

Who would replace him is still very much undecided. But if these reports are to be believed, expecting to see Horner wearing red in 2027 is by no means a safe bet.