Fred Vasseur clashed with ‘highly capable’ Ferrari engineer in ‘very tense’ Singapore Grand Prix moment

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Ferrari are losing hope of winning a Grand Prix in 2025. They collected just 10 points in Singapore and could soon slip out of the top three in the standings.

George Russell won the race for Mercedes, while Kimi Antonelli beat Charles Leclerc in the battle for fifth. Max Verstappen’s second place saw Red Bull gain more ground on Ferrari, narrowing the gap to eight points.

Ferrari have only finished lower than third in the constructors’ once in the last decade (sixth in 2020). Fred Vasseur may have signed a new contract earlier this year, but his long-term future still doesn’t appear secure.

The expectation this season, following the signing of Lewis Hamilton, was that Ferrari would dethrone McLaren. Instead, the Woking outfit waltzed to the constructors’ title with six races to spare, while the Scuderia, 352 points adrift, have only managed five podiums.

Fred Vasseur had tense discussion with Matteo Togninalli at Singapore Grand Prix

According to a report from Corriere dello Sport, the atmosphere at Ferrari is becoming strained amid the dispiriting results. ‘New tensions’ are emerging within the team.

‘Sources’ say that Vasseur was involved in a ‘very tense’ discussion with Matteo Togninalli after Saturday’s qualifying session. Ferrari were sixth and seventh, with lead driver Hamilton half a second off pole position.

Togninalli, who serves as the head of track engineering, is described as a ‘highly capable’ figure. He has held a senior position in the F1 team since 2010.

Ferrari chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna will meet before the next race in the United States. They want to have an open and honest discussion about the team’s problems.

‘Not everyone’ at Ferrari agrees with Fred Vasseur’s management

Gazzetta dello Sport add that there is division within the Ferrari ranks at Maranello. ‘Not everyone’ agrees with Vasseur’s ‘internal management’.

To a degree, this is inevitable when an organisation on the scale of Ferrari underperforms. Clearly, Vasseur isn’t the only one to blame, but he is a natural target.

Still, Gazzetta expect his position to be ‘called into question’ if this form continues into the new regulations next year. It’s been suggested that nobody wanted to replace Vasseur, such is the unique pressure of the position.

It was suggested earlier this year that Ferrari management were using the press to send a message to Vasseur. There’s no indication at this stage that they’ve lost faith in his leadership.