Ferrari boss reveals real reason behind Christian Horner statement

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has opened up on his boss John Elkann's public backing of him, amid rumors of possible change at the team.

The Frenchman signed a new contract with the team just last month, but that barely put speculation over his future to bed for a week.

Christian Horner's availability since being sacked by Red Bull in July has put the pressure on a number of team bosses up and down the grid, with it being known that Horner wants a return having claimed 14 championships with Red Bull across 20 seasons.

Ahead of the United States Grand Prix weekend, Ferrari chairman Elkann released a statement publicly providing support for Vasseur, in a move that was perfectly timed with the Horner rumours.

Now, Vasseur has revealed the real reason behind the statement, suggesting it was used to directly quieten media rumours.

"For everybody it's good to have this kind of message," Vasseur told F1 media at the US GP. "But as we have a permanent contact, we already had the message, that was more for the third party and external target."

When pressed on how vital the statement was to him, he replied: "Yes, it's important because like this you stop the discussion and you are focused on the next one and not to reply to all the questions about this."

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Vasseur staying where he is

2025 has been a poor year for Ferrari, with the team currently sat third in the constructors' championship, 344 points behind already confirmed champions McLaren.

That's despite the fact that they only finished 11 points behind McLaren in 2024, and have added seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to their ranks since then.

Hamilton is yet to have secured a grand prix podium, while neither he nor team-mate Charles Leclerc have put up a serious fight for a grand prix victory all season.

It has been that which has caused pressure to be on Vasseur, and the Frenchman has seemingly not had the answers to the SF-25's baffling lack of pace at certain events.

However, Vasseur will be there in 2026 in order to take Ferrari into a new era, with the team potentially looking to take advantage of new regulations that are sweeping into the sport.

Horner, meanwhile, has been linked with a plethora of other teams, including Alpine, Aston Martin and Haas.

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