Why Fred Vasseur’s Ferrari exit is a matter of time amid Christian Horner rumours

Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was once again linked with replacing Fred Vasseur ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

John Elkann, the Ferrari chairman, was forced to issue a vote of confidence in Vasseur – less than three months after rewarding him with a new multi-year contract. Yet with the team’s woes persisting, and media opinion turning against Vasseur, it seems he remains on borrowed time at Maranello…

Is Fred Vasseur fighting a losing battle at Ferrari?

A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the 2025 United States Grand Prix

When the initial round of rumours surrounding Fred Vasseur’s future as Ferrari team principal surfaced ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix in June, a seasoned Italian reporter appeared on a prominent F1 podcast.

His main complaint?

Not that Ferrari found itself trailing McLaren by so far in the standings already in 2025, having pushed the constructors’ champions all the way just six months earlier.

Not the team’s inexplicable decision to overhaul its car concept for the final year of these highly volatile regulations, an era in which the smallest changes to the car can bring severe unintended consequences.

Not the move to sign Lewis Hamilton. Or to replace Carlos Sainz.

And not even the failure to beat Aston Martin to Adrian Newey.

No, il giornalista’s biggest – and strangely personal – gripe was instead Fred’s reaction to Ferrari’s problems.

Vasseur, it was claimed, was way too calm and relaxed about everything. Infuriatingly so. As if that was somehow a bad thing.

Unable, or simply unwilling, to grasp the reality of Ferrari’s disastrous start to the season.

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Effectively gaslighting the media – and by extension the tifosi – by constantly downplaying the significance of the team’s issues.

Our Italian friend’s whole argument seemed to be built on the premise: why is this oaf not losing his mind like the rest of us?

People outside Ferrari land talk often, to the point of cliché, of the cultural challenges and impossible pressures exerted on the team by a demanding Italian media.

Yet here was eye-opening proof of what you are really up against when you take on the role of Ferrari team principal.

The only conclusion from this character assassination of Vasseur was that people like this are precisely the reason why Ferrari has gone almost two decades without a title.

Everything Fred has sought to achieve at Ferrari since his appointment in 2022, after all, has been about bringing a bit of sanity and perspective to the place.

Blocking out the noise. No longer panicking or overreacting when things go wrong. Keeping the focus on the long-term vision rather than constantly ripping the whole thing up and starting again.

Isn’t all this exactly what Ferrari needs? The results under Vasseur up until this year were inarguable.

Yet now that inner peace has been punctured – now the whole of Italy, it seems, is turning against him – there is no easy way of patching it back up again.

Hence why John Elkann, the Ferrari chairman, felt the need over the United States Grand Prix weekend to issue the dreaded vote of confidence in Vasseur, not even three months after rewarding him with a new multi-year contract.

Maybe not right now, then.

Maybe he’s safe for the foreseeable future.

But the tide has turned, irreversibly so, and the people out to get Fred will have his head sooner rather than later, if not at the end of this season then with a slow start to 2026.

What a pity that would be.

Why Christian Horner is highly unlikely to return to F1 with Ferrari

As revealed by PlanetF1.com, Horner officially parted ways with Red Bull last month after agreeing a $100million (£74.2m/€85.1m) settlement.

Under the terms of his departure, it is understood that Horner will be free to pursue a return to F1 at some point during the 2026 season.

That alone poses the first hurdle to a Ferrari switch, meaning Horner would not be able to take charge of the team before the middle of next year at the earliest.

The timelines simply do not align.

Yet there are other reasons to consider, all likely to persuade Horner to look elsewhere as he considers an F1 comeback.

It is believed that Horner is prioritising a shareholding and/or team-ownership role for his return to the paddock, potentially in a similar position to that held by long-term adversary Toto Wolff.

As well as acting as chief executive and team principal, Wolff owns a third of the Mercedes team.

Horner is unlikely to find the responsibility and power he craves at Ferrari, which is predominantly publicly owned (68.19 per cent) with the remainder split between Exor N.V. (21.20 per cent) and Piero Ferrari (10.61 per cent).

Having had to answer to shareholders throughout his Red Bull tenure, Horner is thought to have aspirations of being a top boss in his own right with a place on the pit wall holding little interest at this stage of his career.

Six men – Jean Todt, Stefano Domenicali, Marco Mattiacci, Maurizio Arrivabene, Mattia Binotto and Vasseur – held the role of Ferrari team principal over the course of Horner’s 20-year stint in charge of Red Bull.

Ferrari, we believe, has expressed an interest in Horner as a potential Vasseur replacement already this year.

As reported by PlanetF1.com in June, Ferrari is understood to have made an approach to Horner prior to his surprise Red Bull exit in the aftermath of July’s British Grand Prix.

In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com around that time, Horner admitted that he has received “different approaches” from Red Bull’s rivals over the years.

Yet why would Horner expose himself to the same nonsense and ridicule Vasseur – a team leader of similar substance – has had to put up with, knowing he could become the latest head on Ferrari’s chopping block if he is unable to orchestrate overnight a change of fortunes for the team?

Few could blame him, having achieved so much at Red Bull, for setting his sights a little higher these days.

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