F1 sack pressure heaped on team principal as Christian Horner faces axe

Former Formula One world champion Damon Hill has revealed that he believes that Ferrari team principal could come under pressure sooner rather than later. The Frenchman, 56, joined the team in December 2022, but his arrival is yet to truly bear fruit.

Ferrari are armed with a strong pairing on the grid this season, Lewis Hamilton and , but have just a single podium finish to their name so far. Improvement is anticipated, but shakeups elsewhere could see the spotlight ultimately fall on Vasseur.

Speaking on the , Hill was asked whether Ferrari are already at risk of being 'falling behind', to which he replied: "Yeah, they are and I think Fred's going to feel the heat.

"I think he's going to feel the pressure now. He's had a bit of a honeymoon period slotting in but now we've got a race like this where they appear to be very uncompetitive or not really competitive.

"They shouldn't be being beaten by Williams - no disrespect to what Williams has done. They've done a fantastic job - but they should be way up there. They should be fighting for the title."

Vasseur is not the only team principal feeling the heat, with reporting that Red Bull's Christian Horner is on the following a tough start to the 2025 season - with his team only securing one win in five Grand Prix races.

Ex-Alpine boss Oliver Oakes and former AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) team principal Franz Tost are both being considered as replacement options as scour the market for available options to rescue their season.

Vasseur will be hoping that he does not suffer the potential fate as his rival, especially as he has revealed that he feels the minor changes that Ferrari have in the works will spark improvement.

Speaking about those upgrades, he said: "Between now and Barcelona, we have Imola and Monaco, we will bring some small upgrades. I trust completely Charles and Lewis.

"Charles, if you have a look at the last five years, and Lewis is the record man of the competition, they are able to do the job in quali, plus on them it's one of their characteristics. Today it's not the case with this car, but we have to improve, and we have to do a much better job of this stage of the race."