Fred Vasseur breaks silence on 'personal' attacks amid Ferrari rumours

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says criticism of his leadership has become “a bit personal”

Fred Vasseur has addressed the speculation surrounding his role as Ferrari team principal following FP1 of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Rumours of his future at the Italian outfit have been building for days and further fuelled by Christian Horner's musing about wanting the role. Today, Vasseur revealed that attacks on his character became "a bit personal."

It's been a weekend of damage control for Ferrari after the outfit already did its best to confirm its confidence in Vasseur during a recent press conference. Now in the lead-up to the race in Malaysia, its drivers have done the same, with them confirming once again their faith in the Frenchman.

Why Ferrari Had To Say Something

During a press session with chief communications officer Maria Conti at the end of September, she vouched for the team chief, confirming Ferrari's "position is clear, has not changed, and Ferrari has made its choices already," adding that the team has "full confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team."

Vasseur, asked at Sepang why that statement was even necessary, answered: "I think this you have to ask your colleague. When you see the noise and all the rumours in the press all the week, I think as a team we need to work in serenity and it was absolutely not the case and I think the statement was it was mandatory to do something or it would have been the same this weekend.

"But honestly the big issue that we have today is the stability, the serenity into the team, the focus that we need to have and not to have this kind of question all the day."

Despite Vasseur having signed a multi-year extension with the team only last year and being in his fourth season at the helm of the Italian powerhouse, a slump in performance and questions surrounding how Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc can engage on-track have seen fans question his leadership on social media. And while Ferrari still sits second in the constructors' standings with two wins, it's lacking the car development needed to continue a consistent fight against the top teams as the season progresses.

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari

Photo by: Michael Potts / LAT images via Getty Images

Personal attacks on Fred Vasseur

It's no surprise that success goes by quietly while failure generates loud criticism. Vasseur was asked about this.

"When you take the role, you know the positive and the negative side of the job," he answered. "I was expecting something like this, which is sometimes a bit unfair when you put someone under the bus, and I'm there also to defend my team, my guys, that, as I said before, when we are winning, we are winning as a team.

"But when we are struggling, I'm there to defend them, to all of them, and I think it's the right attitude from everybody, from them to defend the team principal, from me to defend them when we are struggling.

"Now, honestly, I knew that what I will get and I'm not surprised at all, but sometimes the attacks are a bit personal. It's not good."

He ended with a simple request: "We need friendly media."

Fans have been quick to jump to Vasseur's defence on social media, with one posting: "Vasseur can spend time to take simple decisions at the right time, no one wants to see Ferrari flourish than the fans, you work with your pocket, we watch with our minds and hearts, take a look back at when LH won at Barcelona and tell me you wouldn’t wish to see that again."

None of that support can change the standings, however, and Vasseur knows this. Ferrari will have to take steps for this heat to dissipate.