Lewis Hamilton cannot smile when thinking about his first months with Ferrari, and Vasseur has admitted his mistake.
In China, the seven-time world champion had the chance to taste the joy of a victory in red, even if it was only a sprint race. That happiness did not last long, as difficulties soon arrived for the former Mercedes driver. Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari struggled a lot during the summer, and Fred Vasseur stepped in to defend driver number 44.
Lewis Hamilton made his Formula 1 debut in 2007 with McLaren. With the Woking team he won his first title, while with Mercedes, where he raced from 2013 to 2024, he secured the other six. Moving to Ferrari was therefore not only a big step away from two teams where he had spent many years, but also from a type of culture and way of working very different from what he found in Maranello.
Fred Vasseur himself admitted that Ferrari made a misjudgment in approaching this transition. “Maybe we underestimated the importance of the change. Probably because he spent five years at McLaren and then twelve at Mercedes. It was a sort of continuity: two teams based in the United Kingdom, with the same engine and the same environment.” – the French manager pointed out.
“Joining Ferrari is a radical change for him, in his life, in the culture of the team and in everything else. Doing it in three days of winter testing is quite difficult, and I think the expectations were also enormous.” Vasseur concluded by calling on fans to be patient: “We have to put everything in place, and it takes time. We also need to manage the expectations and the voices around the team. I am really convinced he will succeed. We need to support him every single day, and I will do so. It is a matter of support and mentality. He is totally committed, he is pushing to the maximum. He tries to get the best out of everyone and he will always have my support in this.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded.
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