"We need to work in serenity," says Fred Vasseur amidst Ferrari speculation.

The only thing more curious about Ferrari's need to clarify its faith in its team boss this week was the fact that said clarification came in a video press conference that didn't involve any senior management and was instead handled by the team's communications manager.

Asked why Ferrari needed to make the statement in the first place, Fred Vasseur told reporters in Sepang: "I think this you have to ask your colleagues...

"When you see the noise and all the rumours in the press all the week, I think as a team we need to work in serenity, and it was absolutely not the case," he continued. "I think the statement was mandatory to do something, or it would have been the same this weekend.

"But honestly, the big issue that we have today is the stability," he added, "the serenity into the team, the focus that we need to have, and not to have this kind of question all the day."

"I'm just going to add to that," Williams boss, James Vowles interjected. "Normally we beat each other up and put knives in our backs, but Ferrari is in the best place it's been in the championship for a while.

"They have innovation on the car this year with a rear wing and exhaust blowing that we've all copied as a result of it," he added. "It's a team that's doing brilliantly. So, I mean, for me personally, there is no question that Fred is the right person to do this."

Asked about Lewis Hamilton's comment in terms of its structure, and whether the ongoing "noise" that has been referred to is coming from above, Vasseur said: "I think it would be a mistake to finger-point someone or something or whatever. In the good moments, we are winning as a team. In the bad moments, we are suffering as a team, and I don't want to speak about a single individual or whatever.

"Honestly, I think it would be a huge mistake to start to not be unified," he added. "We had a good beginning of the season. For sure, it's not enough. We want to get more, we want to win more, we want to win the championship. But at the end of the day, we had a positive start. We are struggling the last couple of races, but we are hoping to come back soon with development and to be back into the pace.

"When you take the role, you know the positive and the negative side of the job," said the Frenchman, in respect of his position. "I was expecting something like this.

"What is sometimes a bit unfair is when you put someone under the bus, and I'm there also to defend my team, my guys.

"As I said before, when we are winning, we are winning as a team, but when we are struggling, I'm there to defend all of them. I think it's the right attitude from everybody, from them to defend the Team Principal, from me to defend them when we are struggling.

"Honestly, I knew what I would get on that. I'm not surprised at all, but sometimes the attacks are a bit personal. It's not good. We need friendly media.

"The relationship that I have with my bosses, Benedetto and John, is a very good one," he insisted. "We are in daily contact, and I can't complain at all about the organisation.

"But for sure, you always want to get more, you always want to do more, you always want to recruit more too. But I think it's true for me and it's true for everybody on the grid, that you always want to do more because it's the DNA of what we are doing. But honestly, it has nothing to do with the organisation."

Check out our Saturday gallery from Sepang here.