Vasseur says Horner has been a distraction for Ferrari after Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said Christian Horner has been a distraction for Ferrari at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on Saturday. Vasseur made the remarks after Charles Leclerc finished fourth and his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton was sixth.
Horner, dismissed as Red Bull team principal in July 2025, gave an interview to The Times this week in which he said Ferrari are the only Formula 1 team he would work for without being given a shareholding, describing it as "the dream". Vasseur outlined his frustration with Horner following Saturday's race and linked the comments to increased media and internal attention on the issue.
Addressing the impact inside the team, Vasseur said: "We are not working in the perfect serenity." He added: "For me, first, but for everybody in the team, for the media, for 50% of the questions [to be] about this, it's a bit of a frustrating situation." Vasseur also noted the distraction while Ferrari were "fighting for P3 [third place] in the championship" and said discussions about Horner had taken time away from technical and race matters.
Vasseur was asked whether he was joking about Horner and replied: "I was very serious." When asked whether he would consider working with Horner, he replied: "This you have to ask my assistant." The article says that remark appears to be a reference to the circumstances surrounding Horner's departure from Red Bull in July 2025.
The piece recounts that Horner was accused of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female employee, an allegation that became public in February 2024 and was dismissed by Red Bull following two internal investigations. Horner was fired from his role as chief executive officer and team principal by Red Bull after the 2025 British Grand Prix, during a period in which several senior figures left the team, including chief technical officer Adrian Newey, and Red Bull experienced a slump in form.
The two parties agreed on a settlement said by sources to be worth 60m euros (£51.5m), and Red Bull have never given a public explanation for Horner's dismissal, the article states. Vasseur also pointed to performance issues at Ferrari this season, noting the team had aimed to be title contenders after new chassis and engine rules but that their engine "has lacked performance compared to those of Mercedes and Red Bull." He said of Baku: "With the situation that we are in the engine, we are losing one position per lap, and then we lose the path of the race." He added: "Honestly we were surprised to be in the first row, because Baku is the most demanding in terms of engine, and was not expecting to do so. But we knew even starting from the first row that the opening laps, or in case of restarting safety car and so, it would be difficult. And it was."
On his personal commitment, Vasseur said: "Motorsport is my life, it's my business. I'm trying to do my best. I'm there to do my job. I have the best job in the world, heh. But, it is like it is. We have still seven races to go, and I will push until the last corner."