Lewis Hamilton ‘exaggerates problems’ as Ferrari boss questions ‘extreme reaction’

Lewis Hamilton “sometimes exaggerates the problems he sees” at Ferrari in F1 2025 with his “extreme” outbursts in the media only making things “worse.”

That is the astonishing claim of Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, who says the seven-time World Champion is “too hard” on both the car and himself.

Fred Vasseur: Lewis Hamilton ‘exaggerates’ problems at Ferrari

Hamilton has largely struggled since his blockbuster move from Mercedes to Ferrari at the start of the F1 2025 season, failing to register a podium finish across his first 14 appearances for his new team.

His season slumped to a new low at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, where Hamilton could only manage 12th on the grid as team-mate Charles Leclerc set pole position.

Hamilton cut a dejected figure after qualifying in Budapest, repeatedly referring to himself as “useless” before suggesting that Ferrari should consider replacing him.

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After finishing 12th on race day, Hamilton alluded to potential trouble behind the scenes at Ferrari, commenting: “There’s a lot going on in the background that’s not great.”

Vaaseur is known to have a close relationship with Hamilton, having overseen his title-winning GP2 season as boss of the ART Grand Prix team in 2006 before reuniting with the seven-time World Champion at Ferrari in F1 2025.

And the Frenchman has stressed the need to keep Hamilton “calm” when things go wrong, admitting that the driver’s outbursts often worsen the situation.

Asked what he can do to make Hamilton feel comfortable at Ferrari, Vasseur told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport: “Stay calm.

“Build on the fact that he has already taken the first step. Don’t let things like what happened in Budapest get you down.

“Lewis is very self-critical. He is always extreme in his reactions. Sometimes he is too hard on the car, sometimes on himself.

“He wants to get the most out of himself and everyone in the team.

“You have to calm him down and explain to him that in Q2 [in Hungary] he was only a tenth of a second behind the driver [Leclerc] who later took pole position. That’s no big deal.

“The message he sends out only makes things worse.

“Most of the time, he’s only that extreme with the press. By the time he comes into the briefing room, he’s usually calmed down again. That’s just his way.

“For me, it’s no big deal. He demands a lot. From others, but also from himself. I can live with that.

“Nico Hulkenberg was the same when he drove for me in Formula 3. He demanded an awful lot from the team, but he was also there every morning at 6.30 a.m.”

A report in Italy last week revealed that Ferrari’s engine braking system is proving a serious ‘complication’ in Hamilton’s attempts to adapt to life at Maranello.

Respected publication La Gazzetta dello Sport has claimed that Hamilton is yet to fully optimise the car’s engine braking, with specific characteristics of the Ferrari system meaning he continues to lack the feel he had at Mercedes.

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Ferrari’s engine braking – combined with an upgraded set of Brembo braking materials – is believed to have played a role in Hamilton’s unusual spin at last month’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, where he pointed to a new component being used on his car for the first time.

Vasseur has insisted that Hamilton’s issues with the car are relatively minor, with his lack of feel for the brakes costing him “maybe half a tenth” of a second per lap.

And he has admitted that the driver has a habit of “exaggerating” the problems he feels with the SF-25.

Vasseur said: “We solve the problems step by step.

“They’re not huge, they just look that way.

“If the braking system isn’t quite how the driver would like it, then maybe half a tenth is lost there.

“From the outside, it’s often difficult to quickly identify exactly where he’s losing that half-tenth.

“Such a minimal time difference can ruin your whole weekend. It can be the difference between Q2 and Q3.

“Lewis sometimes exaggerates the problems he sees in the car.

“The team then naturally wants to respond and everyone jumps on the problem.”

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Vasseur’s latest comments come after he revealed that he was left “really angry” by rumours in June that his position at Ferrari was under threat following a poor start to the F1 2025 season.

Multiple reports from Italy over the Canadian Grand Prix claimed that Vasseur was fighting for his future at Ferrari with Antonello Coletta, the head of the Scuderia’s successful World Endurance Championship operation, mentioned as a potential replacement.

As reported at the time by PlanetF1.com, Ferrari also approached Christian Horner earlier this season prior to his departure from Red Bull.

Rumours also surrounded the future of Leclerc despite the Monegasque signing a new long-term contract with Ferrari as recently as January 2024, with technical director Loic Serra also under scrutiny for the team’s underwhelming season despite only arriving at Maranello in October last year.

Vasseur admitted that he was left frustrated by the intense speculation hanging over Ferrari in Canada, claiming that the “noise” in the background delayed a resolution to his future.

He said: “Rumours caused the turmoil. I didn’t spread them, the media did. Neither Ferrari nor I said anything.

“But today, you can’t avoid this kind of distracting noise.

“I don’t want to tar all journalists with the same brush, but with the internet reporting has become much more aggressive. There is pressure to generate clicks.

“When these rumours first appeared in Canada, I was really angry because they went too far.

“My technical director Loic Serra was accused of not doing a good job, but the 2025 car was practically finished when Loic started working for us.

“The story with Charles Leclerc was similar. Some people regularly wrote that Charles was going to Mercedes.

“No one cared that he repeatedly confirmed he had a long-term contract with Ferrari.

“That has an impact on the team. In Italy, people tend to react more emotionally.

“Without all this noise, my talks with Ferrari would have gone much faster.”

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