Ferrari have ruled out the possibility of appointing Christian Horner to replace Frederic Vasseur as their new team principal. The former Red Bull supremo recently expressed an interest in taking over at Ferrari, with Vasseur facing speculation over his future amid the team's on-track struggles.
Horner's interest in Ferrari
Last week, Horner told The Times: "At this stage in my life, there's only one team for which I would accept non-participation in ownership. Would I consider Ferrari? I mean, Ferrari is the biggest brand in Formula One. It's the dream. And, arguably, it's the sleeping giant of Formula One."
Ferrari have since insisted that Vasseur will retain their full support in a hastily-arranged press conference ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.
Ferrari's full confidence in Vasseur
Chief communications officer Maria Conti said: "In recent days, there has been increasing speculation surrounding Ferrari and particularly dedicated to its leadership.
"Ferrari's position is clear, has not changed, and Ferrari has made its choices already, and we have confidence, full confidence, in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so.
"At this time and in this particular moment, it's really important that the team remains united and cohesive, and we are focused all the energy, on the work ahead."
Focus on the future
Conti added: "Ferrari has always attracted extraordinary interest, and it is only natural that many professionals aspire to be part of it. It is a reflection of the strength of what Ferrari really represents.
"So this is why we really want to avoid, and we do not intend to fuel speculation or comment on assumption coming from outside the company, and is not just related to the story in The Times of Mr. Horner, but in general there is a lot of speculation about that.
"So again, we have confidence in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so. And the position is clear, not just now. We have already confirmed in the past.
"Our focus now is on the work. We would like, of course, to be focused on the future, and this is always the Ferrari spirit and the spirit of our founder: humility and complete focus on the future.
"We are doing that today, on Tuesday, 29th September, because we would like to avoid that in the next weekend in Malaysia being occupied only with this kind of gossip and speculation.
"We would like to be focused on the race, on the performance, on the team, on Fred, and of course the leadership is taking to bring ahead the Scuderia Ferrari HP."
