Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur refuses to do one thing to end ‘disaster’ trend at Lewis Hamilton’s team

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Fred Vasseur believed that Ferrari would fight for the drivers’ and constructors’ titles before the 2025 F1 season started, yet the Scuderia are now striving to finish second.

McLaren won the 2025 constructors’ title last time out at the Singapore Grand Prix to retain the trophy, having beaten Ferrari by only 14 points last term. But the pride of Italy trail their rivals from Woking by 352 points this year, with six Grands Prix and three Sprints still to run.

Ferrari also fell to a 27-point deficit to Mercedes in the fight for second place in the 2025 F1 constructors’ championship, as Red Bull in fourth place also cut their deficit to the Scuderia to eight points. Ferrari have secured 143 fewer points over 18 rounds than they did in 2024.

The 2025 drivers’ title is also beyond a far-fetched dream now for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who only rank fifth and sixth in the standings respectively. Leclerc trails McLaren star Oscar Piastri atop the standings by 163 points with 173 so far, while Hamilton has 125.

Fred Vasseur refuses to demand major changes for fear of upsetting Ferrari chairman John Elkann

Ferrari are also the only one of F1’s top four teams without a Grand Prix win to date in 2025. Leclerc has penned all five of the Scuderia’s podiums, as well, with Hamilton’s F1 Sprint win in China back in round two of the 18 staged thus far the only highlight of his first year in red.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

But Autosprint now reports that Ferrari team principal Vasseur refuses to ‘raise his voice’ to demand any major changes that can improve the Scuderia’s fortunes. There is ‘no leader’ in Maranello who dares to speak up, as they fear it would upset Ferrari chairman John Elkann.

The tip-toeing in the corridors of Gestione Sportiva has seen Vasseur struggle to tempt staff to join from their rival crews. Adrian Newey rejected Ferrari to join Aston Martin, Gianpiero Lambiase stayed at Red Bull and Giuseppe Pesce stayed at McLaren all within the past year.

Ferrari have faced a ‘disaster’ trying to capitalise on the movement of high-ranking bosses, while losing some of their own engineers to rival teams in recent months. The turnover of staff in Maranello could now impact how Ferrari adapt to the 2026 F1 regulations overhaul.

Fred Vasseur is under pressure as Ferrari chairman John Elkann mulls a move for Christian Horner

Vasseur could even soon pay the price for Ferrari’s plight in the 2025 F1 season, despite the 57-year-old only signing a new contract in July. Ferrari gave Vasseur a new contract through 2027 to quell speculation surrounding the Frenchman’s future, but it is once again in doubt.

It is now being reported that Ferrari chairman Elkann is considering replacing Vasseur with Christian Horner, with the 51-year-old Briton free to join a new F1 team in early 2026. Red Bull agreed to reduce the length of his gardening period to leave the Milton Keynes squad.

Elkann is committed to making Ferrari a successful F1 team again, with the pride of Italy set to reach a 17-year title drought. Ferrari last won the constructors’ title in 2008 and also last won the drivers’ title in 2007, when Kimi Raikkonen beat Hamilton by only one single point.