Ferrari’s Frederic Vasseur reveals the real reason behind Lewis Hamilton’s early struggles. Fréd Vasseur reveals he and Lewis Hamilton underestimated the challenge of switching from Mercedes to Ferrari.

Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur, who has recently renewed his contract with the Scuderia, has spoken openly about the difficulties that Lewis Hamilton has faced during this first part of the Formula 1 season, making a surprising revelation that sheds light on the situation.

The first months of Lewis Hamilton’s debut season with Ferrari have been somewhat below the high expectations that surrounded his move from Mercedes. After claiming a victory in the Sprint race in China earlier in the year, the driver of car number 44 has been unable to replicate that success in the subsequent Grands Prix. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has yet to find the perfect connection and driving confidence with the SF-25, and his most recent remarks have left little doubt about his current challenges.

According to Frédéric Vasseur, the root cause of Lewis Hamilton’s struggles at Ferrari lies in a miscalculation made by both the team principal himself and the British driver.

The mistake
In a recent interview with DAZN Spain, Ferrari’s team principal expressed his complete faith in Lewis Hamilton but also acknowledged a key error made at the very start of the season. “We underestimated how challenging it would be for Lewis Hamilton at the beginning of the year,” Fred Vasseur admitted.

The switch from Mercedes to Ferrari has proven to be far more complex than initially expected. Fred Vasseur explained that Hamilton’s professional career has been deeply tied to a familiar environment for two decades: ten seasons with McLaren at the start of his Formula 1 journey, followed by another ten consecutive years with Mercedes. “It has essentially been a 20-year career within the Mercedes family,” Fred Vasseur noted, “and changing everything—the culture, the people, the working methods—is not an easy task.”

The Frenchman went on to say that both he and Hamilton had underestimated the depth of the transition. The move did not simply involve changing cars and team colours; it required adapting to an entirely new operational structure, communication style, and internal culture. This, in Fred Vasseur’s view, inevitably slowed down Hamilton’s process of fully integrating into the team and maximising the potential of the SF-25.

Despite the absence of consistent strong results so far, Fred Vasseur reassured Ferrari fans that Lewis Hamilton’s motivation remains intact and that he is fully committed to the long-term project alongside Charles Leclerc. “In a season like this,” Fred Vasseur explained, “when there are such high expectations and then you go through a rough patch, it is very easy for a driver to give up. But Charles Leclerc has never done that. He has always pushed to the limit, supporting the team, and has built an excellent working relationship with Lewis Hamilton.”

According to Fred Vasseur, this strong collaboration between Ferrari’s two star drivers could prove decisive in the second half of the season, as both work towards improving the car’s competitiveness and delivering better results.