Briatore and Vowles say Vasseur faces unusually harsh media scrutiny

Alpine team principal Flavio Briatore and Williams team principal James Vowles say Fred Vasseur faces a harsher media spotlight than other Formula 1 team principals, especially when Ferrari's results fall short. Their comments come amid speculation over Vasseur's future, even as Ferrari's senior leadership has publicly reaffirmed confidence in him.

Briatore said the media focus on each failure and that Vasseur faces more coverage and attention than other principals. Formula 1 needs the media, he added, though he would sometimes prefer friendlier coverage.

Vowles said team principals generally risk their jobs if they do not deliver. He framed his comparison as an outside impression: in his view, Vasseur and his predecessors at Ferrari are celebrated more lavishly in success and punished more harshly in failure than their counterparts elsewhere on the grid.

Speculation over Vasseur's position intensified after Red Bull boss Christian Horner described the Ferrari team-principal role as a dream job; Italian media had also reported friction between Vasseur and CEO Benedetto Vigna over Lewis Hamilton's integration into the wider structure. Ferrari's senior leadership reaffirmed confidence in Vasseur at an emergency press briefing last week and denied restricting his autonomy. Vasseur said he remained in daily contact with Vigna and executive chairman John Elkann.

In a Motorsport.com report updated on 3 October, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna recalled seeing a claim that his relationship with Vasseur was badly strained while the two were dining together. Vigna said Ferrari's public clarification had curbed speculation and that questions on the subject died down. He also said the car needed to improve because rivals had done better.