Vasseur says he’s “sleeping well” despite Ferrari rumours

Jun.28 (GMM)  With another high-profile former Ferrari figure reappearing elsewhere in the headlines, Frederic Vasseur continues to face questions about his own future at Maranello.

Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports that former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo — long critical of the Scuderia's post-Schumacher era leadership — has now joined the board of McLaren Automotive, the British carmaker’s road division.

Now 77, Montezemolo has frequently lamented Ferrari’s direction in recent years, accusing the team of lacking the strong leadership he once shared with Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher.

Meanwhile, current team principal Vasseur remains at the centre of swirling speculation that his contract will not be renewed beyond its current term — something he pushed back on during the Canadian Grand Prix just two weeks ago.

In Austria, the talk has remained in the background as Ferrari rolled out a new floor upgrade in a bid to close the gap to front-runners McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes.

"I would say the upgrade is going well," Vasseur told Sky Italia. "But we need to analyse it in depth."

The broadcaster then turned to the elephant in the room — the rumours about his job security.

"We are focused on the work that we are doing," Vasseur said. "We must remain united and concentrated as a group and for now we are doing well. We are totally focused on the weekend."

And when asked how he’s sleeping at night given the pressure, the 57-year-old replied with a smile: "Very well, thank you."

Still, Sky Italia believes the silence from Ferrari’s top management speaks volumes.

"Otherwise, they would have already come out with a statement of confirmation," the report noted. "There is nothing official, it must be reiterated, but CEO (Benedetto) Vigna will certainly be at Silverstone. What is clear is that Ferrari cannot return after the summer break with this uncertainty about the team principal."

Former F1 driver and respected Italian pundit Ivan Capelli urged caution, warning that a leadership change could cause deeper disruption.

"In football," Capelli said, "replacing the manager can be useful because it's about the athlete's mind. But in Formula 1 there is planning, study, design. Interrupting it means starting the process from the beginning and it can take years.

"Additionally, the drivers have publicly declared that they work well with Vasseur, and their voices are important," he added.]]>