Ferrari release Fred Vasseur statement amid Christian Horner rumours

Ferrari chairman John Elkann has expressed his “full confidence” in team principal Fred Vasseur.

The unprompted vote of confidence from Elkann comes after a report claimed Ferrari are considering Christian Horner as their future team principal.

Horner, who was sacked by Red Bull in July, is seeking a return to F1 after agreeing a severance package that will enable him to make a comeback in the spring of next year.

The Daily Mail reported last week that Ferrari were in talks with Horner about taking over from Vasseur, who was only handed a fresh multi-year contract extension earlier this summer.

The report stated that Elkann was losing faith in Vasseur’s leadership amid a dreadful season for Ferrari, but he has now moved to dismiss such suggestions.

“I want to express our full confidence in our Team Principal, Fred Vasseur, and in the work he is carrying out together with all our colleagues at Scuderia Ferrari  -  the mechanics, engineers, and drivers competing this weekend in Austin,” Elkann said in a Ferrari statement.

I also want to reaffirm the importance of teamwork by everyone to maintain focus on the only goal that matters: always giving our very best on the track.”

Hamilton says talk of Horner ‘distracting’

Lewis Hamilton admitted that the rumours linking Horner with Ferrari are “districting” and unhelpful.

"I don't know where the rumours have come from, so I can't shed much light on that,” Hamilton said on Thursday ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

“It’s a little bit distracting for us as a team. The team have made it clear where they stand in terms of re-signing Fred.

“Fred and I and the whole team are working really hard on the future for the team, so these things naturally aren't helpful. I know everyone back at the factory is working incredibly hard and these rumours can be distracting.

“For me, it's important to keep the focus on the goal that we're building on for next year’s car, continuing to build a foundation on this year so that next year we can have better execution and better overall performance.

“As I said back in Spa, we're having lots of meetings to make sure we're sailing in the right direction.”