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Fred Vasseur will not be present on the pit wall during the Austrian Grand Prix. The Ferrari boss has departed the Red Bull Ring and returned home 'for personal reasons', meaning deputy team principal Jerome d'Ambrosio will step up and lead the team for the remainder of the race weekend.

Ferrari released a statement on Sunday morning confirming the news. It read: "Fred will not be at the track today, because he has had to return home for personal reasons. Deputy team principal, Jerome d'Ambrosio, will stand in for him." Vasseur has been under pressure this season, with reports from Italy suggesting that his Ferrari future is in doubt. The 57-year-old's three-year contract comes to an end in December, and with the Scuderia third in the Constructors' Championship standings, the drop off from 2024 has been clear to see.

However, fortunately for Vasseur, the Italian constructor's fortunes improved on Saturday in Spielberg. Charles Leclerc booked his place alongside pole-sitter Lando Norris on the front row of the grid, while Lewis Hamilton secured his best qualifying result as a Ferrari driver in fourth.

The seven-time world champion was much more upbeat after climbing out of the cockpit on Saturday and praised the steps forward that Ferrari have taken. Vasseur's squad have been working hard on an upgraded floor, which is starting to reap rewards.

"It's a fantastic result," he told Sky Sports F1. "The team have worked really hard at the factory to bring us a new floor this weekend, and considering yesterday we were a lot further off - I think we were six to nine tenths off - for us to be much closer and to be on the second row, I think that's really fantastic.

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"And for Charles, obviously, he's on the front row... and I think ultimately, my last lap wasn't perfect. I think if I had finished it, I would have been second. So there's lots of positives to take out from that session. Also, I think it was the best day operationally, and I would say particularly through qualifying.

"How the team operated - just timings, the information we're getting in terms of traffic and positioning on track I think was really the best. [It was] proper world-class, so that's what we've been working towards."

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