Briatore backs Vasseur as Leclerc, Hamilton tension grows
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 30, 2026
Briatore backs Vasseur
Flavio Briatore has thrown his support behind Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, saying the Frenchman needs patience to handle Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton and should have his work respected. Briatore called Leclerc and Hamilton a “bickering pair” and said it is never easy to control two drivers who are both fighting for top status. He also made clear where he thinks authority should sit inside the team. Ferrari, he said, must keep reminding both drivers that the car belongs to Ferrari, not to either of them.
The comments land at a time when Ferrari has already shown front-running pace and friction in equal measure. Its 2026 SF-26 started the season as the closest challenger to Mercedes and has taken two wins, one for Leclerc and one for Hamilton. That kind of split success can strengthen a team’s title push, but it can also sharpen the tension when both drivers want to lead the project. Briatore’s message was simple. Vasseur needs time, and Ferrari needs discipline if it wants to keep the team pointed in the same direction.
Leclerc Hamilton tension
Briatore pointed back to the Monza clash as a clear example of how quickly things can spill over inside Ferrari. He referred to the moment when Leclerc ran Hamilton off the road at the first chicane, a flashpoint that fed the sense of rivalry inside the garage. His broader point was that when two drivers are both chasing status at the top, the team principal has to manage personalities as well as performance. That task gets harder when results are close and each side feels it has a case.
He also said upgrades from rival teams have pushed Ferrari down the order. That leaves the Scuderia balancing internal pressure with external competition, a tough place for any leader. Even so, Ferrari remains second in the constructors’ standings and 72 points ahead of McLaren, a position that keeps the team in the fight while also inviting scrutiny. The gap to the next rival offers some breathing room, but it does not erase the questions around how Ferrari handles the relationship between its two drivers or whether the structure around them can hold under pressure.
Ferrari pressure context
Vasseur’s position has already come under pressure, and Ferrari moved publicly to back him while rumors circulated that he could be replaced. Briatore backed that stance rather than rushing to judgment. He also dismissed the idea that he could take over at Ferrari, calling it “too late” and saying he had never been close to Maranello. That shut down one possible alternative before it could gather any real momentum.
The longer view at Ferrari adds weight to the current debate. The team has not won a world title since 2007 and has not taken a Constructors’ Championship since 2008. It finished second in 2024 under Vasseur, then dropped to fourth in 2025. His contract runs through 2027, which gives Ferrari a formal framework for continuity even as the scrutiny builds. Ted Kravitz said Vasseur would be safe if Ferrari finishes second in the constructors’ championship, a view that reflects how much the team’s standing still shapes the conversation around leadership. Ferrari also has an awkward recent precedent to consider. In 2022, it called speculation about Mattia Binotto “entirely without foundation” before he resigned two weeks later. That history only sharpens the focus on the latest round of noise around Vasseur, Leclerc and Hamilton.
