Lewis Hamilton Defends Team Boss Amid Speculation Of Shakeup At Ferrari
The rumors started flying after some underperformance from the team
Formula 1 is back in action this weekend with the final Canadian Grand Prix before the race moves to May next season… on the same day as the Indianapolis 500, which seems like a huge mistake.
However, even when there's no one in the F1 paddock, there are still rumors flying around and one of the biggest as of late has been that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur may soon be forced out of the team, with his most likely replacement to be none other than Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
If that happened, it would be a seismic shift, but one guy who may have some inside information on this is Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton — who also has a history with Vasseur that goes back to his time in the junior formulas — and he says he wants Vasseur to stick with the team.
"He has my full support. It’s definitely not nice to hear that there are stories out there," Hamilton said on Thursday, per the Associated Press. "I love working with Fred. Fred’s the main reason I’m in this team and got the opportunity to be here and we’re in this together. We’re working hard in the background.
"Things aren’t perfect, but for me, as I said, I’m here to work with the team but also with Fred. I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to be at the top. Ultimately, (the reports) are nonsense."
Lewis Hamilton shot down rumors that Ferrari is prepared to move on from team principal Fred Vasseur. (Getty Images)
I think it would be a pretty rash decision to move on from Vasseur now, especially when you consider the big regulation changes coming next year. It would make sense to have some continuity as far as team leadership is concerned.
Vasseur also got a show of support from Williams Carlos Sainz. The former-Ferrari driver noted that whenever the results aren't coming for the Scuderia.
"Same story as always: The moment that the results don’t click in Ferrari, there’s always finger-pointing by the media, and all this chaos happening," Sainz said.
It sounds like the rumors may be a lot of nothing. However, the wild thing about Formula 1 is that there's plenty of precedent for rumors that ultimately turn out to be true being brushed off.
Remember how rumors of Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari used to be considered nonsensical?
Yeah, how did that one turn out?