Fred Vasseur 'had to Google' Red Bull employee linked to Ferrari

Fred Vasseur has explained how he was forced to "Google" a Red Bull employee the Italian media had linked with Ferrari. 

Before the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, it had been claimed that Vasseur's position as team principal was under threat following Ferrari's poor start to the season, a claim the Frenchman rubbished during the Friday team principal's press conference.

Both Charles Leclerc, himself linked with a move away in the same rumours, and Lewis Hamilton gave Vasseur their firm backing when questioned about the situation, with Vasseur further explaining how rumours had forced him to search online for the name of the man linked with a move to Ferrari.

"I spoke about the story with [Enrico] Balbo [in the team principal's press conference]," referring to Red Bull's head of aerodynamics, who was linked with Ferrari in 2024," Vasseur told media including RacingNews365.

"It is a good example as it was in the press that we had signed Balbo, but I had to Google him because I didn't know him. I had never met him before, but can you imagine if Diego [Tondi], who is head of aerodynamics, had seen something like this in the press?

"It would be quite harsh for him, not knowing if it is true or not. 

"This is putting a kind of...tension is not the right word, but distraction into the team and at the end of the day, we are in a competition with other teams, and if we are distracted or not focused on the right thing, we will lose.

"I will have to read the press [again], but again, to close this chapter because I don't want to put oil on the [fire], when I signed for Ferrari, I was perfectly aware that I can't blame someone except myself.

"If I didn't want to have this kind of story, it would have been better to stay out, but it is very, very harsh for the team, for 1500 people, to have your name spread around like this in the press.

"Now, each day, I have people coming into my office asking,'Is it true?', [The answer is]: 'No, it is not true.'"