Hamilton, Leclerc lend support for Ferrari boss Vasseur amid replacement rumours

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has described team principal Fred Vasseur as “a fantastic leader.” | Photo Credit: AFP

Ferrari’s drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have recently spoken out in support of the team’s embattled boss Fred Vasseur on Thursday and have also hinted that Ferrari’s wider structure may be the real problem to deal with.

Hamilton described Vasseur as “a fantastic leader” at the media briefing in Sepang on Thursday. Ferrari currently sits in second place behind Mercedes in the team standings ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix being held in Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit.

There is speculation that former Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner will potentially step into Vasseur’s role, with the former complaining about being asked about him (Horner) “25 times a day” in Baku.

“There often seems to be a lot of focus on one individual, in one role, always here. You can see they’ve obviously switched out lots of different people in Fred’s role, but Fred is a fantastic leader. He really is the guy to take this team in the right direction,” Hamilton said.

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Later on, Leclerc dismissed what he called “silly rumours” about Vasseur’s future in leading Ferrari. “I’ve always said how much I trust Fred and how important he is for the team,” he said.

Hamilton also said that instead of focusing on the rumours surrounding Vasseur, Ferrari’s structure is what requires focused consideration.

“There are also people above Fred, and it’s not about one person. For me, it’s frustrating to see all the negativity. It’s 10 times worse for some reason for Ferrari, but that’s also to be expected given that it’s the best brand here. It’s the most iconic by far,” Hamilton concluded.