Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur discussed the sensational negotiation that brought the seven-time world champion to Maranello in an interview given to RMC Sport, explaining that after almost 20 years the planets finally aligned to allow them to work together again following their successes in F2 and F3.
The year 2024 has only archived the first Formula 1 race, but there’s already something generating great anticipation for 2025. The news of Lewis Hamilton’s switch from Mercedes to Scuderia Ferrari has taken the entire paddock by surprise, like a bolt out of the blue, but it has also inevitably created huge expectations.
The seven-time world champion has decided to give a grand finale to his glorious career, but all those involved in this sensational negotiation are ready to swear that it’s not just a “last dance.” Lewis is coming to Maranello with the desire to chase his eighth title. Among them is team principal Frederic Vasseur, who, in an interview with RMC Sport, talked about how the context was created for this moment when asked how this crazy idea came about.
“How did it happen? Lewis was my driver about twenty years ago, in Formula 3 and Formula 2. We won both titles together and have remained very close over the years. I had been thinking about this for a long time, but it didn’t make sense to imagine Lewis Hamilton driving for a Sauber,” Fred Vasseur said.
“Then there was a moment when the planets aligned: I arrived at Ferrari and he was at the end of his contract with Mercedes. I believe we both wanted to work together again, and Lewis wanted to drive for Ferrari since he started, but I think that’s something all drivers want to do. Then, opportunity makes the thief, but I don’t want to go into too much detail (laughs),” he added.
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The French manager couldn’t pinpoint a real turning point in the negotiation, however, he explained that probably the Prancing Horse represented the best option for Lewis Hamilton to try to return to winning after the last two seasons with Mercedes were very disappointing. This type of negotiation can fail at the last minute. As you can imagine, these are big and complex contracts, so I never said to myself, ‘Come on, it’ll happen.’ I just thought it was an extraordinary opportunity for the team, for a whole series of reasons, and that we had to work on it in the same way we develop the car. But until the last moment, I tried to train everything so that it would go well, and then I very quickly sensed a real motivation in Lewis, because he was convinced that, maybe after Red Bull, we were his best chance to win the title. And this was motivation number 1 for him.” – the Ferrari boss continued.
“This is where the planets aligned because he is very motivated to win. I think he’s a mega-champion who, despite the 103 victories, still has the same determination as when he had won 0. He’s very motivated, commits a lot, is very demanding of himself and the people around him. Today, when he looks around, he says that if he wants to be a champion, going to Red Bull might be complicated, because they don’t have a close relationship.”
“Behind Red Bull, for him, the best option is definitely Ferrari and at the same time it aligns with his childhood dream. Moreover, he knows this is probably his last contract, so he knew he had to make the right choices and that’s what he wanted to talk about,” Fred Vasseur concluded.
