Ferrari boss Vasseur frustrated by Horner speculation

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has described the speculation surrounding his future as frustrating after former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner's comments in an interview fuelled talk of a potential move for the Briton to the Italian team.

Horner, who was ousted from Red Bull in July last year, told the Times in an interview published last week that Ferrari would be the only team he would consider joining without an ownership stake on offer.

He went on to describe the team as the "dream" and "the sleeping giant of Formula One".

"We are not working in the perfect serenity," said Vasseur, who joined as Ferrari team principal in January 2023, after Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

"For me, firstly, but for everybody in the team, for the media, for 50 percent of the questions (to be) about this, I think it's a bit of a frustrating situation."

Horner, who returned to the Formula One paddock at the British Grand Prix a year after his 2025 sacking, ran Red Bull for 20 years.

He led the team to eight drivers' world championships -- four with Sebastian Vettel and four with Max Verstappen -- ⁠and six constructors' titles.

The 52-year-old, married to Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, was also in the headlines in 2024 after a female employee accused him of inappropriate behaviour, of which he was cleared after an investigation.

Speculation of a return has continued to bubble away since Horner’s ousting, with the Briton linked most notably with Renault-owned Alpine and Silverstone-based Aston Martin.

Ferrari, the sport’s oldest and most successful team, who last year signed seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton alongside their protege Charles Leclerc, haven’t won a title since 2008 when they were crowned constructors’ champions.

Kimi Raikkonen remains the last driver to win the drivers’ championship for the team in 2007.

The Maranello-based outfit has won two races this year, one apiece for Hamilton and Leclerc, and are second in the overall standings behind dominant Mercedes.

But their form has faded with McLaren and Red Bull resurgent.

"Mr. Horner is looking for a job - that everybody knows - everywhere," said Vasseur.

"But what can I do? Just try to do my best to push the team, to rise them to be motivated, focus on what is better today."