Fred Vasseur grilled on Adrian Newey arrival amid reports of “signed” deal

Fred Vasseur has given his latest views on Ferrari’s reported pursuit of Adrian Newey from the Imola paddock.

The famous Italian manufacturer, who will welcome Lewis Hamilton in 2025, are thought to be front-runners for Newey’s coveted signature.

Newey will depart his job as chief technical officer at Red Bull early next year and is open to taking a new role at a rival team.

Ferrari team principal Vasseur was asked at the F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix about the noise surrounding their interest in Newey.

“We have noise, but it doesn’t matter the name. It’s noise,” Vasseur responded.

“We need to continue to improve, it’s the DNA of our business. Continuous improvement.

“I am pleased with the job so far but compared to Canada, we took a step forward.

“We are a bit closer to Red Bull.

“It’s not about big names. We need to pay attention on details, to focus on this.

“We will continue to develop the team, for sure.”

The Daily Mail reported ahead of the Imola round that Newey is set to join Ferrari next year.

He has either “already signed” or “soon would” sign a contract to work at Ferrari, the newspaper wrote.

Newey ended any lingering likelihood that he might walk away from Formula 1 altogether in the past week, citing an example of his father who retired too early and later regretted it.

Newey confirmed he would likely be back in the F1 paddock wearing different colours.

Charles Leclerc v Carlos Sainz

Vasseur was quizzed about the relationship between his drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Leclerc will start the F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix from third, one place ahead of his teammate.

Sainz has lost his 2025 seat at Ferrari to make room for Hamilton, who will form an exciting duo with Leclerc.

But Sainz is also responsible for Ferrari’s two most recent grand prix wins, in Singapore in 2023 and Australia this year.

Vasseur does not recognise either Leclerc or Sainz as his No 1 driver.

He commented on their ongoing competition: “This is part of the results of the team.

“We have a positive imulation between them.

“Last year, Carlos did a fantastic job in September. He got the podium in Monza, he won in Singapore.

“This pushed Charles to be back in the last part of the season.

“We need to keep this. It is part of the result.

“Look at McLaren, they have the same kind of positive imulation and internal competition between Oscar and Lando.

“I think it’s part of the game.”