Ferrari will contest the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix without Team Principal Fred Vasseur, who will miss his first race since taking charge of the team in 2023.
A spokesperson for the Scuderia confirmed that Vasseur “will not be at the track today because he has had to return home for personal reasons.”
He will be replaced on the pit wall by his deputy and Ferrari Driver Academy chief, Jerome d’Ambrosio.
The news will come as a blow to the team, who enjoyed one of its best qualifying sessions of the season so far.
Charles Leclerc took second place, splitting the two McLarens, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton also buoyed by a fourth place start, his best grid position of the year.
The team arrived at the Red Bull Ring with a number of new updates to its SF-25 car, which, after Saturday’s running, appears to have caused a positive spike in its performance.
For d’Ambrosio, it is an unexpected step up in what has been a meteoric rise for the Belgian in his progression with the team.
The 39-year-old joined Ferrari in October last year, having previously been Driver Development Director at Mercedes, and took charge of the team in Wolff’s absence at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2023.
D’Ambrosio was previously Deputy Team Principal to Wolff’s wife Susie at Formula E outfit Venturi Racing in 2020, moving to full Team Principal a year later.
It followed six years driving in the all-electric championship, having spent three years in F1, with one full season racing with Virgin in 2011 in between stints as reserve driver for the Renault and Lotus teams.
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton now ‘as fast’ as Charles Leclerc at Ferrari despite Austria F1 qualifying slip
Why don’t we just ban fake Italian gossip journalists? They’ve been making up stories for 100 years. Not journalists. Just gossips and rumour mongers.