Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur has moved to address the swirling speculation linking former Red Bull boss Christian Horner with a role at the Scuderia.
Horner had suggested he would be open to returning to the paddock in what he described as a dream role with Ferrari, intensifying rumours around the team’s leadership structure.
The speculation comes at a particularly difficult time for Ferrari, with Vasseur’s stewardship facing serious scrutiny amid growing internal tensions at the team.
The relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc has provided an uneasy backdrop to a title challenge that has clearly faded as the season has progressed.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix only reinforced how far Ferrari remain from genuine championship contention, with Mercedes outpacing them comprehensively in qualifying on Friday.
Leclerc and Hamilton ultimately finished in P4 and P6 respectively in Saturday’s race, a result that prompted Hamilton to call for a full team investigation into their performance.
Hamilton expressed frustration over a lack of grip, difficulty firing up his tyres, and the team’s persistent straight-line speed deficit throughout the Baku weekend.
On a separate front, Alpine boss Flavio Briatore confirmed that the team conducted six months of secret negotiations to secure former Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott as their new chief technical officer.
Elliott had been absent from Formula 1 since departing Mercedes in 2023, and Briatore’s determination to bring him back underlines the team’s ambitions for sustained competitiveness.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris called for the FIA to introduce race bans following his retirement from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after being hit by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto during a lap 36 restart.
Norris was not reserved in his criticism, suggesting that driving of that nature “not driving that deserves to be in F1,” as Colapinto was handed a penalty to be applied at the next race in Malaysia.
Briatore confirmed he would take time to reflect on Colapinto’s incident and “consider what course of action should be taken” internally to prevent a repeat of the damaging collision.
Max Verstappen also confirmed that he will serve a grid penalty before the end of the season after exhausting his power unit allocation at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix due to an engine issue in qualifying.
The weekend in Baku delivered a mixed picture across the grid, with Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull all carrying their own distinct problems into the upcoming Malaysia race.