Fred Vasseur shuts down Lewis Hamilton questions as Sainz lands latest podium
Lewis Hamilton will link up with his former ART team boss in Fred Vasseur at Ferrari in 2025.
Just like Lewis Hamilton, it appears Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur is also growing tired of the questions surrounding that upcoming switch from Mercedes.
It was confirmed ahead of the F1 2024 campaign that Hamilton will become a Ferrari driver as of 2025, with Carlos Sainz the driver who will make way to facilitate his arrival. However, it has been a case of polar opposites in terms of how the season has gone so far for each driver.
Fred Vasseur in no mood to talk about Lewis Hamilton
While Hamilton wants to go out on a high at Mercedes, that ambition is in serious jeopardy after a rough start to F1 2024 which has seen him finish no higher than P7 in the opening four rounds, a pair of P9s and a DNF making up the rest.
Sainz meanwhile boasts a 100 per cent podium record in the three races he has contested, the crowning achievement being a dominant drive to victory at the Australian Grand Prix.
That has led to a great deal of scrutiny over Ferrari’s pre-season acquisition of Hamilton, but team boss Vasseur was in no mood to entertain a reporter’s talk of an “alternative reality where you hadn’t already signed Lewis Hamilton for 2025.”
Before said reporter could finish their sentence, Vasseur interrupted to make sure that it could go no further.
“We have the same question each weekend,” said Vasseur.
“Do a copy paste of my reply of last week, next one.”
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Hamilton was also in no mood to talk about his upcoming Ferrari move after the Japanese Grand Prix, showing a similarly blunt and disinterested approach with the media on the topic.
After a simple “it was okay” assessment when asked about his drive to a disappointing P9 at Suzuka, a reporter tried to weave in Hamilton’s Ferrari-shaped future, which did not go down well. In fact, Hamilton would walk out, but not without comment.
The reporter asked: “Are you looking forward to being with them [Ferrari]? Because they’re faster?”
Hamilton responded: “Do you have any better questions?”
With only 10 points collected across the opening four rounds, Hamilton finds himself P9 in the Drivers’ Championship and 14 points adrift of team-mate George Russell, having not yet finished ahead of his fellow Brit in race trim this season.
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