Fred Vasseur is now doing something Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc love behind the scenes at Ferrari

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There was a moment this season when it looked like Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur’s future looked extremely uncertain.

Heading into the 2025 F1 season, McLaren and Ferrari looked like the main candidates to potentially win the constructors’ championship based on their form at the end of the previous campaign.

Fred Vasseur’s team took a far more radical approach than their main rivals, and so far, it hasn’t paid off.

Ferrari made a suspension change with one eye on 2026, but it hasn’t helped Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton this year.

Much has been made of Hamilton’s podium absence this season, and Leclerc seemed to be in prime position to win the Hungarian Grand Prix before his pace fell off a cliff during his final stint.

It was the latest frustrating result for Vasseur’s team, in a campaign full of tough moments for the Scuderia.

Vasseur has now signed a new multi-year deal, but for a long time, it didn’t look like that was going to be the case.

Ferrari chairman John Elkann’s lack of action in placating the Italian media didn’t help matters, but journalist Tim Hauraney thinks the actions of Hamilton and Leclerc might have played a far bigger role in his future being decided.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc love how Fred Vasseur is managing Ferrari behind the scenes

Hauraney was speaking about Vasseur on The Ringer Podcast and explained: “He’s like a driver’s team principal, essentially what Fred is. A big part of Fred coming back to the team, the drivers play a huge role in that.

“If Lewis and Charles aren’t getting along with Fred or they don’t agree with the way Fred is taking things, then the chances of Fred coming back to Ferrari are slim to none.

“Lewis and Charles play a huge role in making sure that Fred was coming back to the team.

“Essentially, Lewis was saying like, ‘Hey, look, if Fred’s not going to be here, neither am I.’ It’s kind of the way it rolls.

“I think they like what he’s doing behind the scenes. I think they like the way that he’s managing the team. With Ferrari, it is such a massive company because that’s what it is.

“Ferrari are a car company, and then they have the Scuderia, the race team, which is just on the side.

“Sometimes big Ferrari get involved when they probably shouldn’t be. You need to leave that to the racing folks. Let them deal with the racing.

“It’s kind of like when they had Jean Todt, Ross Brawn in that team during the Schumacher days. Ross Brawn and Jean Todt were able to shield the team from the executives, keeping their hands out of it, and the racing team was allowed to go and do what it did, which was winning championships.

“And so I think Fred, that’s a big part of what he’s been trying to do at that team.”

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

Fred Vasseur lauds ‘magic’ McLaren team with 2025 championship over

All eyes are going to be on Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to see who is going to win the drivers’ championship.

Only nine points separate the two McLaren stars, but the constructors’ championship is essentially already over.

Vasseur has called McLaren ‘magic’ as they headed into the summer break with a nearly 300-point lead over the Scuderia.

The job Vasseur has now is to make sure Ferrari can go one better next year, and the work he’s doing behind the scenes to keep everyone pulling in the same direction is going to be essential.

But the likes of Elkann will quickly run out of patience if Ferrari aren’t challengers at the beginning of yet another rules cycle, and no matter how popular Vasseur is with Leclerc and Hamilton, they may not have enough power to keep him in his role beyond his current deal.