Hamilton dismisses potential Horner move to Ferrari: "These rumors are not helpful"

Frédéric Vasseur was annoyed, in Canada last June, by rumors announcing his upcoming departure from FerrariTargeted by a cabal from the Italian media, the Frenchman was quite angry at a press conference in Montreal: "Maybe for them, it's the only way to exist. That's probably the real reason. But it really hurts the team," Frédéric Vasseur got carried away. "At some point, it distracts us. And when you're fighting for the championship, every little detail counts. Since the beginning of the weekend, we've been talking about nothing else. If their goal was to put the team in this situation, well, they succeeded. But I sincerely believe that's not how we'll win a championship. At least, not with these kinds of journalists around us."

Announced to be in the hot seat, the Frenchman finally put an end to the criticism by extending his contract with the Scuderia, which he took over at the start of 2023. A choice welcomed by his drivers Charles Leclerc et Lewis Hamilton, close to the former ART GP boss since their youth. But even with a new contract freshly signed, the rumors don't stop... Now, a possible arrival – highly hypothetical – of Christian Horner is stirring up the Italian press.

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Vasseur confirmed, Horner seems far away

This track responds to a certain logic: Horner has a resounding CV, credited with impressive successes in twenty years at the head of Red Bull, with eight Drivers' titles and six Constructors' titles, until his departure last July. In addition, the Briton, free as a bird, has been approaching new formations for several weeks, notably Haas et Aston Martin, without anything going further for the moment.

But at the same time, Frédéric Vasseur seems to have the confidence of his board, materialized by the aforementioned contract extension, and replacing him now would not make sense. The Scuderia has had a disappointing season, without a win and with third place in the Constructors' Championship threatened by Red Bull, which is now eight points behind. However, the real challenge lies in 2026, the year of the new regulations that will define the forces present. The Frenchman will then have to have shown that he is the man for the job, or risk finding himself once again under fire.

In the meantime, he can count on the support of Lewis Hamilton, who dismissed out of hand the rumors of Christian Horner's arrival in Maranello: "I don't know where these rumors are coming from, so I can't really talk about them. It's a bit of a distraction for us as a team, but Ferrari has already clarified its position on Fred's extension," assures the Briton. "We are all working very hard for the future of the team, and these rumors are not helpful."

Hamilton ends test season

After a mixed first year with Ferrari, the seven-time world champion is also looking forward to 2026, aware that the last few rounds to run will not be revealing. : “I see these last six races as the ultimate test weekends to continue perfecting our processes.”, explains Hamilton. "As I said in the last few races, there were some gems that we didn't know how to exploit. So it's about taking what works, changing what doesn't and moving forward."

“We’re trying to strengthen relationships, improve communication, and of course, everyone at the factory deserves a good result. The goal is to maximize every point possible every weekend. At the same time, you have to be realistic: for most of the season, it was clear we weren’t in the championship race. But lately, we’ve had some good results, and I know that when the car is fast and capable of fighting at the front, I can be there. It’s as simple as that.”

Lewis Hamilton, who has clearly improved his performance in recent weeks, is still chasing his first podium in red, which would give heart to the fans and the forty-year-old himself, whose debut in red has not always been a fairy tale without any rough patches.