SPIELBERG, Austria :Ferrari Formula One boss Fred Vasseur has left the Austrian Grand Prix to return home for personal reasons with deputy Jerome d’Ambrosio taking over for Sunday’s race at Spielberg, the team said.
Ferrari had Charles Leclerc set to start on the front row alongside McLaren’s pole-sitter Lando Norris and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth on the grid.
The Italian team have yet to win this season and Frenchman Vasseur has come under increasing pressure with speculation about his future.
Belgian D’Ambrosio is a former racer who joined Ferrari from Mercedes and has been deputy principal since last October. Before that he was also a team boss with Venturi in the all-electric Formula E series.