Fred Vasseur addresses why he was upset with ‘absolutely nonsense’ Ferrari media rumours

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Ferrari is currently second in the Constructors’ Championship, but their season has been a difficult one so far in 2025.

Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, while Leclerc was forced to give up a race win in Hungary due to fears of excessive plank wear after starting from pole.

The pace is there for Ferrari, but they have had to overcome significant setup problems or issues in the races, yielding no wins so far in 2025 and just five podiums for Leclerc.

Their poor performance prompted speculation that team principal Fred Vasseur might lose his job, although this was quickly put to rest when Ferrari announced a multi-year extension for Vasseur at the end of July.

Discussing the rumours around Ferrari and some of the stories published by the press on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Vasseur explains why he was so upset with the media.

Fred Vasseur explains why he was upset with ‘nonsense’ Ferrari rumours

Vasseur lashed out at the media at the Canadian Grand Prix when stories were published naming Loic Serra, who was one of their key hirings along with Jerome D’Ambrosio from Mercedes.

The Frenchman has explained why he was so upset with the stories and the rumours surrounding Charles Leclerc’s future at the team.

“When I signed at Ferrari, I knew about this. I knew that I would be exposed to the gossip, to the rumours, to this kind of polemic. But in the same article, we had two other topics,” said Vasseur.

“The first one was: ‘Ah, perhaps that Loic (Serra) is not the right guy for the job.’ Loic arrived after the car. And I was a bit upset that you can throw a name like this under the bus, just to create the polemic, it was absolutely nonsense.

“The second point was about Charles. They say: ‘Ah Charles will go to Mercedes.’ It was the same article, the last five, six races, and Charles on Thursday is coming back to say: ‘Guys, it’s not true. I’m at Ferrari, I want to stay.’ I think this article is more about creating a mess than anything else. And it’s where I say: ‘Guys, please calm down.’

“I’m not asking the press to be positive with Ferrari when we are not doing well. You can have a negative judgment. But just to, I don’t want to say the word because I don’t want to have to go to the stewards! But to spread this on the team each weekend, I say: ‘Hey, please calm down. Be negative when we are doing a poor job on track, but don’t spread rumours like this.’”

READ MORE: The most successful F1 drivers at the Italian Grand Prix of all time at Monza

Could Ferrari win their first race of 2025 at Monza?

Ferrari heads into the Italian Grand Prix hopeful of defending Leclerc’s victory from the 2024 season, who won after they introduced upgrades to their car that transformed the second half of their season.

With focus now firmly on the cars for 2026, it is unlikely Ferrari will introduce a similar update, but the team is optimistic that they can have a competitive weekend.

Hamilton has to deal with a five-place grid penalty because of a yellow flag infringement at Monza, while the Dutch GP offered a small positive as Ferrari was able to contain excessive plank wear.

The flat surface at Monza and emphasis on the slow corners might suit Ferrari, as they attempt to win their 21st Italian GP this weekend.