Martin Brundle warns Ferrari after wild rumour: 'It would be nuts'

Martin Brundle has dismissed the suggestion Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is part of a wider problem at the Italian team and could soon be out of his job.

The former F1 driver-turned-pundit included the Frenchman in what he called a "tremendous trio" alongside Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at Maranello. 

After narrowly missing out on a constructors' championship last year, Ferrari entered the new season with high expectations.

However, it has struggled for front-running form in the opening phase of the season and is yet to take to the top step of the podium.

On the build-up to the Canadian Grand Prix, Italian media reported Vasseur's position at the helm of the squad was no longer secure - speculation that Vasseur aimed a fiery response to.

Brundle has warned Ferrari not to part ways with Vasseur as he highlighted the Frenchman is not at the root of the team's issues.

“It would be nuts to change Fred Vasseur,” Brundle told Sky Sports F1.

“Is he the problem? I don't think he's the problem at the moment. The car's not fast enough. Now, that's a collaboration between everybody in the team.

“Who would you replace them with? And then a new crew comes in, and everybody keeps their head down, start working in silos, because... waiting to see where they stand with the new boss.

“That's the last thing Ferrari need to do at the moment. Fred's got a lot of experience. I think he can handle the pressure.

“I mean, it's only a year ago I did an interview with him here [in Montreal], and everybody was celebrating what amazing job he'd done turning Ferrari around - They'd just won Monaco. 

“[It] didn't go so well immediately after that, but you know what? This is not a Premier League club where you just keep changing the managers until, eventually, you hopefully find one. You can't do that, and it would be nuts.”

Martin Brundle hands Ferrari advice

Ferrari has long been a high-pressure environment to work in due to its cultural ties to the entire Italian nation and its position as the most successful team in F1 history.

"It was ever thus at Ferrari," Brundle reflected. "You're racing for a country when you race for that team. 

"It's almost a religion over there, and that's what you have to put up with. And Fred knows that."

"He's particularly animated there, isn't he - and upset," Brundle added in reference to a Vasseur interview with Sky Sports earlier in the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, which echoed his demeanour and remarks in the official FIA team representatives' press conference.

"And what he's saying is, 'it's affecting people. You can't just lob these stories out there'. I think they're [Ferrari is] sticking together pretty well, and that's all they can do.”

Brundle has backed the current Ferrari combination for success as he urged upper-level management to stamp out media pressure from impacting its staff.

"I remember Ross Brawn telling me that one of the first things he did when he got there [to Ferrari], because they used to have the press cuttings on key desks every morning, was to stop that happening, because it just scrambled people's heads,” Brundle added.

"You've got to get your blinkers on and do what you're good at do, and keep the team morale, keep the team focus, where it needs to be.

"And a combination of Leclerc and Hamilton and Fred is a tremendous trio - I don't think that's the problem. The problem is making sure the cars a little bit faster.”