Fred Vasseur clarifies true purpose of John Elkann's message of support.

Heading into the Austin weekend one of the hot topics was the ongoing claim linking Christian Horner with Ferrari.

However, Ferrari chairman John Elkann poured cold water on the speculation insisting that he has full confidence in the current team boss.

"I want to express our full confidence in our team principal, Fred Vasseur, and in the work he is carrying out together with all our colleagues at Scuderia Ferrari, the mechanics, engineers, and drivers competing this weekend in Austin," Elkann told the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in Washington D.C.

"I also want to reaffirm the importance of teamwork by everyone to maintain focus on the only goal that matters: always giving our very best on the track," he added.

Lewis Hamilton had already begun the weekend by admitting that the media speculation was "disrupting" for the team at a time it is still seeking to sort out its 2025 contender.

Speaking in the wake of Sunday's race, in which Charles Lecerlc and Hamilton finished third and fourth, Vasseur talked about Elkann's show of support and who it was really aimed at.

"For everybody it's good to have this kind of message," said the Frenchman. "But as we have permanent contact, we already had the message, that was more for the third party and external target."

Asked if, despite the fact that the message was aimed elsewhere, he took comfort from it, Vasseur said: "It's important because like this you stop the discussion and you are focused on the next one and not to reply to all the questions about this."

Previously, Aston Martin's Andy Cowell claimed that Horner has been contacting every team in the pitlane as he seeks to return to the sport, though the former Red Bull boss cannot actually return to F1 until next Spring.

Meanwhile, as everyone focusses on Max Verstappen's amazing comeback, it is worth noting that Red Bull is just 3 points behind Ferrari in the constructors' standings, with the Dutchman having provided 306 of the Austrian outfit's 331 (93%).

In other news, sources claim that trainee employee Chris Spice has been reprimanded by Red Bull after 'accidentally' removing duct tape from the pit-wall in Austin in the moments before the race.