Ferrari chairman issues statement on Fred Vasseur amid…

Ferrari chairman John Elkann has issued a statement backing team principal Fred Vasseur after rumours about Christian Horner taking his role at the Maranello outfit surfaced.

“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 stated.

"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.”

Rumours began to circulate after Horner officially parted ways with Red Bull following the finalisation of a settlement agreement that would allow him to return to Formula 1 in 2026.

While speaking to the media ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton branded the rumours "distracting" as he shot down the possibility of Vasseur being replaced.

"I mean, I don't know whether I can really shed much light on that, but it's a little bit distracting for us as a team," Hamilton said.

"Obviously, the team have made it clear where they stand in terms of re-signing Fred, and Fred and I and the whole team are working really hard on the future for the team. So these things naturally aren't helpful.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari (Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images)

"I know everyone back in the factory is working incredibly hard, focused, and these sort of rumours can sometimes be distracting. But for me, it's really trying to keep the focus on the goal that's in front of us and building on next year's car, really continuing to build a foundation on this year so that next year we can have better execution, better overall performance."

He added: "I don't [know if there is any truth] and I'm not going to entertain rumours."

Hamilton's team-mate Charles Leclerc also touched on the rumours ahead of the weekend at the Circuit of The Americas.

"There are lots of speculations around me, but just in general around the team for whatever reason, I feel like there are too many people speaking things not coming from actual facts and it's just a little bit annoying.

"It's always been like that. And I think as a driver, but I think as a team, we've just got to focus on our things, which is what we are doing.

"But it's just not great and not super nice to see all these things around the team all the time. It's definitely not a situation we want to be in, in a way that the performance is not at the level where we want to be. But we are all focused on trying to turn that situation around, as I was saying.

"And whenever there is a situation where the results are not there, then there are always those rumours around that come back. But yeah, I mean, what I say today is what I've said in the past six or seven years with the team."