Ferrari Principal Undisturbed by Hamilton’s Recent Performance

During Ferrari’s Christmas lunch in Maranello, team principal Frederic Vasseur stated he is “not worried” regarding Lewis Hamilton’s performance challenges during his concluding season with Mercedes. Hamilton is set to officially join Ferrari in the upcoming year, following a season where George Russell significantly surpassed the seven-time champion in qualifying sessions. Russell concluded the championship 22 points ahead of Hamilton, with both Mercedes drivers securing two Grand Prix victories each. Vasseur acknowledged that Hamilton experienced “tough moments” during qualifying, but he emphasized that he was “never, never, never worried about the situation.” The French team principal highlighted Hamilton’s “very good races” in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi towards the season’s conclusion, expressing his belief that the complexities of managing his final season with Mercedes influenced his performance levels. Hamilton’s agreement to join Ferrari was finalized in January, over a month prior to the commencement of the 2024 season. Vasseur stated: “I am really convinced, and I don’t want to blame Lewis or Mercedes, that this situation is not easy to manage and I can understand if it is not going well you can suffer in this relationship.” He further added: “He was not very well in his mind and he was clear about this in Brazil but he also did very well on the last couple of events and I am not worried at all.” Vasseur, addressing attendees at Ferrari’s customary Christmas media lunch, played a key role in Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari, owing to their enduring professional relationship that began two decades ago in junior racing categories. When questioned about managing the competitive dynamic between Hamilton and his incoming team-mate Charles Leclerc, Vasseur acknowledged it was “always a challenge” among drivers within the same team, but asserted it would propel Ferrari’s progress. “Charles, Lewis, I am not particularly worried about this,” Vasseur commented. “They have a huge mutual respect, they know each other, they have been talking about this for months now.” He continued: “It is much better to fight for first and third or second and third than to fight for 19th and 20th. It is a good issue for a team to have this kind of discussion and approach and I am really convinced again that the performance of the team is coming from the emulation between the two.” Vasseur conceded that integrating Hamilton into the team and achieving optimal performance within the two and a half months between his arrival and the season’s commencement in Australia on 14-16 March presented another “challenge.” Hamilton is scheduled to test a 2023 Ferrari early in the new year, marking the beginning of his assimilation process with his new team. Vasseur declined to specify a date for this test, explaining it was “closely linked to the weather.” The test is anticipated to occur at one of Ferrari’s dedicated test tracks, either Fiorano at the factory or Mugello in Tuscany. Ferrari has not disclosed additional details regarding their plans for Hamilton prior to the official pre-season test in Bahrain, scheduled for 26-28 February. “It is not easy but he is coming with his own experience,” Vasseur remarked. “He is not the rookie of the year, I am not worried at all about this.” He added: “We know that we have a lot of procedure to assimilate during this couple of days but he is experienced enough to do it.” Vasseur further elaborated: “We have the advantage to have the simulator and he will be able to do a race simulation and a qualifying simulation in the simulator and to be fully prepared with the steering wheel and all the particularities of the car. But I am not worried about this and it is not the biggest challenge.” As part of his transition to Ferrari, Hamilton is anticipated to relocate to a residence in Italy, likely within Milan. Vasseur, who shares with Hamilton the characteristic of not speaking Italian, mentioned he had no specific advice for adapting to Italy and the new team, apart from a lighthearted suggestion “to avoid to take too much pasta, for the ballast.” Ferrari’s 2025 car is scheduled for launch in Maranello on 19 January, following F1’s inaugural official “season launch” event at the O2 in London the day before. Vasseur confirmed that Hamilton would not participate in any additional public engagements for the team. He explained: “We have to be fully focused on the season. It will be a very tight period between the first day and the launch and I want to have everybody fully focused on performance.” Vasseur elaborated: “We have the launch of the championship and the launch of the car. It is two events and for me it is far too much. Or it is far enough, let’s say. I want to be focused on development and performance and not on the show.” Furthermore, Vasseur publicly discussed for the first time his conversations with Hamilton last winter, which ultimately resulted in the driver’s move to Ferrari. “In 2023 we won more races than Mercedes so it was not difficult to convince him Ferrari would be a good project,” he stated. He continued: “He had the project to drive for Ferrari in his mind for at least 23 years because we were discussing this in 2004. It was not too difficult.” Vasseur added: “Sometimes it is also a matter of coincidence or to align all the planets, that he is on the market, that Ferrari have a seat available and so on. The contact was an easy one. We started to discuss one year ago and it was not difficult to convince him.” Ferrari finished the 2024 constructors’ championship 14 points behind McLaren in the final race, and Vasseur anticipates the upcoming season will feature another tight contest among the top four teams, specifically naming Red Bull and Mercedes. “What we have to do to win next year is about details,” he explained. “We made good improvements in every area but we are still missing 14 points in the championship. It is a lot and almost nothing, it is a DNF, a race incident, a strategic decision.” He concluded: “We are speaking about details on every single pillar. Every single mistake, every decision will make a huge decision. I am sure next year the championship will be also tight and we can’t let one point run away.”