Toto Wolff launches passionate defence of Fred Vasseur amid Ferrari F1 speculation

Mercedes Formula 1 chief Toto Wolff has urged Ferrari's following to give his counterpart Fred Vasseur enough time to turn the Scuderia around.

Amid his third season as Ferrari's team boss, Vasseur has received swells of criticism from Italian fans and media as the squad’s much hoped step forward hasn't materialised just yet.

Ferrari hasn't been in a position to win a grand prix in 2025, with Monaco being its only credible victory challenge, although it is very much in the fight to defend its second position in the championship.

Rumours over Vasseur's future surfaced earlier this month after several Italian newspapers simultaneously ran stories on Ferrari's leadership pondering a change, reports which were vehemently denied by Ferrari and slammed by Vasseur himself as well as drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Having replaced Mattia Binotto ahead of the 2023 season, former Sauber man Vasseur is still in the middle of his overhaul of the Maranello squad, with one of his key signings Loic Serra only joining this year from Mercedes.

When asked by Motorsport.com at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix just how crucial it is for team bosses to be given more time to complete the job, in light of the Vasseur rumours, long-time Mercedes leader Wolff held a passionate plea in support of him.

"In Formula 1 you can't buy time, and you need to give senior leadership the time to get on top of things," Wolff replied. "Jean Todt, if I'm not wrong, joined the team [Ferrari] in 1993. They won the first championship in 2000. Eight years. That's how it goes. 

"And it comes in cycles. Look at us. I'm not enjoying being in a phase that it's the third year in a row that we're not fighting for a championship. We're not useless. We have really good weekends. We're winning races. It's respectable at times. And when it's not good, nobody's questioning whether the top guy is doing a good job or not.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

"Leave him the space. Let him do. Allow him to structure an organisation that isn't going to grip from day one. Loic is there six months or seven months. They need to just let them do."

"If I wasn't here, I would take Fred"

Wolff added he would hire Vasseur in a heartbeat if he needed a replacement.

"Fred is one of the best racing managers that I know. If I wasn't here, I would take Fred," he said. "So, I respect him a lot. He's a great personality. He's a straightforward guy. He doesn't do politics and lies, and he knows what he's talking about."

Wolff acknowledged Vasseur's reality of having to endure increased scrutiny as the head of Ferrari, which he suggested was something the Frenchman should try to embrace.

"He's perfectly aware that in Italy, he's like managing the football national team and you're going to have the scrutiny from the media," Wolff continued.

"Maybe that's something you need to grow a little bit of a thick skin [for], because if he wins, he is Jesus Christ. And if you lose, you're a loser.

"That's how Italy is, and that's fantastic. That's the passion that's there and you've got to embrace that. And maybe that's something he needs to learn. 

"But he should be given the confidence to run this team. They won't get anybody better."