logo
Ferrari F1 boss Fred Vasseur receives backing of Toto Wolff: ‘Leave him space'

Ferrari F1 boss Fred Vasseur receives backing of Toto Wolff: ‘Leave him space'

Independent4 days ago
Toto Wolff has backed close friend Fred Vasseur to turn Ferrari 's fortunes around after a disappointing start to the 2025 F1 season.
While McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes have all won at least one of the first 12 races, Ferrari are yet to land a grand prix victory and star driver Lewis Hamilton has not finished on the podium yet.
Ferrari's underwhelming first half of the season has put Ferrari team principal Vasseur's position in some doubt, but Wolff urged the Italian outfit to stick with the Frenchman.
'It seems to be a bit of a revolving door with teams generally,' Wolff said, regarding team principal change-ups in the sport. 'I think in F1, you can't buy time, and you need to give senior leadership the time to get on top of things.
'Look at us. I'm not enjoying being in a phase where it's the third year in a row that we are 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 in a way whether the top guy is doing a good job or not. Leave him the space. Let him do [things]. They need to just let them do [things].'
Vasseur, 57, was previously at Sauber and Renault. Prior to that, he ran the ART junior team in Formula 2 from 2005-2017, and it was at the start of that stint that he first worked with Hamilton in GP2.
'Fred is one of the best racing managers that I know,' Wolff, who saw Hamilton leave Mercedes after 12 years for Vasseur's team in the off-season, added.
'If I wasn't here, I would take Fred. So, I respect him a lot. He's a great personality. He's a straightforward guy. He doesn't do politics and lies. He knows what he's talking about.
'He just needs to be given the trust to run this. He's perfectly aware that in Italy, it's like managing the football national team. You're going to have the scrutiny from the media.
'Maybe that's something you need to grow a little bit of a thick skin, because if he wins, he is Jesus Christ, and if you lose, you're a loser. That's how Italy is. That's fantastic.
'That's the passion that is in there. You've got to embrace that. Maybe that's something he needs to learn. But the rest, he should be given the confidence in running this team. They won't get anybody better.'
Despite not winning a race, Ferrari are second in the constructors' championship, 12 points ahead of Mercedes in third, but a whopping 238 points off leaders McLaren.
The next race is the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps (25-27 July).
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Arsenal 'set to ramp up pursuit of Eberechi Eze' after finally landing Viktor Gyokeres as they look to strike £60m deal with Crystal Palace
Arsenal 'set to ramp up pursuit of Eberechi Eze' after finally landing Viktor Gyokeres as they look to strike £60m deal with Crystal Palace

Daily Mail​

time24 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Arsenal 'set to ramp up pursuit of Eberechi Eze' after finally landing Viktor Gyokeres as they look to strike £60m deal with Crystal Palace

Arsenal are ready to launch a fresh offensive to land Eberechi Eze after closing in on a deal for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres. The Gunners have fully agreed terms to sign the Sweden International and are expected to officially confirm the £63.5million move any day now – leaving the path clear to turn their full attention to Crystal Palace 's star playmaker. Eze, 27, has been heavily linked with a move away from Selhurst Park this summer after helping the Eagles to their first-ever major trophy last season as he scored the winner in the FA Cup final against Manchester City. The Gunners appear to be the team most keen to land him but are yet to submit an official bid for the player, as they have been preoccupied with securing Gyokeres. But now, Arsenal are preparing a £60m approach for Eze, possibly spread over three instalments, according to The Independent. This is less than the midfielder's £67m release clause, but it is understood that the club's boardrooms maintain good relations and will negotiate in good faith - a breath of fresh air for Arsenal, who have only now wrapped up their two-month pursuit of Gyokeres. Eze is understood to favour a move to the Emirates, with many close to the situation confident a transfer will go through in the coming weeks. If Arsenal are unwilling to part with a hefty sum of cash, there is a possibility that Reiss Nelson could be included in a deal as a make-weight. Furthermore, while Eze's signing does not hinge on this, Arsenal would prefer to sell one of their assets before splurging on the Palace star. If the north London club were to agree a deal for Eze in the region of £60m, it would take their summer spending past £250m, including Gyokeres. Also joining Mikel Arteta's ranks for the 2025-26 season are Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Cristian Mosquera, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard.

ATP roundup: Arthur Cazaux reaches first career final in Austria
ATP roundup: Arthur Cazaux reaches first career final in Austria

Reuters

time24 minutes ago

  • Reuters

ATP roundup: Arthur Cazaux reaches first career final in Austria

July 25 - France's Arthur Cazaux took down countryman and sixth seed Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-3 to reach his first ATP final at the Generali Open on Friday in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Cazaux, 22, fired off eight aces without a double fault and won 31 of 37 first-service points (83.8 percent). Ranked No. 100 in the world, Cazaux will face No. 1 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan for the title. Bublik took care of the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4. Six days ago, Cazaux reached his first ATP Tour semifinal in Gstaad, Switzerland, and lost to Bublik there. Plava Laguna Croatia Open Spaniard Carlos Taberner toppled No. 4 Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-2, 6-1 to reach his first career ATP final in Umag, Croatia. Taberner, ranked No. 111 in the world, had a 26-11 advantage in winners and capitalized on Dzumhur's 37 unforced errors. Taberner's foe in the final will be Italian second seed Luciano Darderi, who defeated third seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina 7-6 (6), 6-3. --Field Level Media

England or Spain? Brown-Finnis' Euro 2025 final prediction
England or Spain? Brown-Finnis' Euro 2025 final prediction

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

England or Spain? Brown-Finnis' Euro 2025 final prediction

There is just one more game to go, but will Euro 2025 end with the holders retaining the title - or a first for the world champions?BBC Sport football expert Rachel Brown-Finnis maintained her 100% record in the knockout stages by correctly backing England and Spain to reach Sunday's final at St Jakob-Park in is predicting the outcome of all 31 games in Switzerland against BBC readers, and been right about 22 out of 30 so far (73%).You were also right about both semi-finals, meaning your overall total is 20/30 (67%).Out of a combined total of 100,000 predictions by BBC readers for both games, 87% thought England would beat Italy and 80% expected Spain to get past will you be backing in the final? You can make your own predictions Brown-Finnis was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan. Final 27 July, 17:00 BSTSt Jakob-Park, BaselWorld ranking: 5th v 2ndBest previous Euros finish: England - winners 2022. Spain - semi-finals live on BBC One, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website; live commentary on Radio 5 Live and BBC will know they can play much better than they did in their quarter-final and semi-final wins over Sweden and Italy, and success on Sunday is a matter of them bringing their best game from the first second to the a team as good as Spain, they cannot afford any defensive mistakes - they have to be absolutely watertight at the defended superbly against Spain in their semi-final and goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger had a brilliant tournament. But she made one mistake at the very end and that was all it took for them to go have so many world-class players and arguably the best in Aitana Bonmati, that they can take advantage of any won't be afraid of them, though. There is no chance of the outside, beating the world champions might seem like a daunting task. Spain were the better side when they beat the Lionesses in the 2023 World Cup final and they have won 10 games in a row - a run that includes victory over England the last time they met, in Spain's last defeat, in February, came against the Lionesses at Wembley. Having a recent result like that to lean on for reassurance is huge ahead of an occasion like this.I look back at that game and think England can do it this time too - and the players will 100% believe it as well. Germany showed England the way? Rewatching Germany's semi-final against Spain would be the perfect preparation for England, certainly in terms of seeing a system that will allow them to get at their were well organised at the back but also created a number of chances too. England need to do exactly the same to squeeze Spain, but then be more clinical when they get their own opportunities, which they quite easy to see where Spain's vulnerability could be - they play a high line at the back so you can hurt them with quick attacks and pace in you are looking at the pace of Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp being key for the Lionesses, with Alessia Russo making fast forward runs as Hannah Hampton can play a part too, if you remember the goal England scored against the Netherlands in the group stage, where she played a long ball to Russo who set up Lauren James for a stunning strike from the edge of the area. We have seen already how goalkeepers have often been the players who have decided the tightest of matches, whether in penalty shootouts or open play, so Hampton's overall performance is likely to be crucial if England are going to has been solid so far at these Euros - brilliant with her feet and very good with her hands. Hampton has commanded her area too and seems to be gaining confidence with every it comes down to a battle between her and Spain's Cata Coll, I would back Hampton all the way.I want to see Coll tested, because I don't think that has happened much so far in Switzerland - Spain have not come under too much pressure in any of their way of doing that would be with our set-piece deliveries. Spain have looked a little rusty when they have faced them and I would not be surprised if a free-kick or corner leads to an England goal on Sunday. The verdict? I have said England will win Euro 2025 from the start and I am not changing my mind now.I've not just been backing them blindly as they have gone through the tournament either. They've essentially been playing knockout football since losing their opening group game to France, but have had the mentality to solve every problem they have progress has not exactly been straightforward but Sarina Wiegman keeps coming up with a way of winning, and I believe she will do the same against is going to be extremely close, of course, because there is so little between the two teams, but I think the Lionesses will win by one needing penalties in the quarter-finals and extra-time in the semi-finals, this time I can see them getting the job done in 90 prediction: 2-1

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store