Elkann puts Vasseur 'under observation' as Italian press questions Ferrari's leadership after Monza

Writing in Corriere della Sera, journalist Daniele Dallera argued that Vasseur's renewed contract has not removed the pressure from above. "His future as boss is unclear," he wrote, reporting that significant pressure is building at Maranello from the highest levels. Dallera stressed that there is currently no obvious alternative plan ready to be activated: "There is no Plan B beyond the French manager." He went on to describe the team principal and the project as being under observation.

Corriere dello Sport's Fulvio Solms took an even harder line, arguing that it should no longer be Vasseur making the decisive calls for the Scuderia, but president Elkann. According to Grandprix.com, Solms also said a team principal should establish the rules before a race rather than explain them afterward, a pointed reference to the Hamilton-Leclerc collision that left both Ferraris compromised. The criticism, the report stressed, is no longer confined to the speed of the SF-26.

Veteran Ferrari observer Leo Turrini placed responsibility for restoring order squarely on the team principal, warning: "If he doesn't succeed, we all understand what needs to be done."

Ferrari left Monza with a sixth-place finish for Hamilton and a retirement for Leclerc after barely two laps. Kimi Antonelli's victory for Mercedes, delivered after starting 19th, made the result even harder for Maranello to swallow. The team remains second in the Constructors' championship on 346 points, but trails Mercedes by 122.

"We'll come back next week much stronger," Vasseur, who was offered a new contract with the team despite yet to win a title, said after Monza. Madrid provides the immediate opportunity for Ferrari to answer its critics, but the tone emerging from Italy's most prominent newspapers leaves little doubt that patience at the highest levels of the company is running low.