Lewis Hamilton highlights ‘amazing’ Ferrari figure during volatile first year

Lewis Hamilton spoke of the “amazing” support which he has had from Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur, and gave a fascinating insight into how the Frenchman goes about business at the Ferrari helm.

Hamilton – whose association with Vasseur stretches back to his junior racing days – spoke of how “car performance” is what Vasseur is all about, a person who Hamilton says has not changed at all over the last almost two decades.

Lewis Hamilton highlights ‘amazing’ Fred Vasseur support

Having called time on his record-breaking Mercedes career to join Ferrari in time for F1 2025, Hamilton reunited with Ferrari team principal Vasseur. The duo already knew each other extremely well, Hamilton having won his Formula 3 and GP2 titles with Vasseur’s team.

It has not been the first season in Ferrari red though which Hamilton and the team had hoped for. Ferrari is yet to win a race this year, while Hamilton is still searching for his first Ferrari podium.

Nonetheless, Hamilton would rather have this growing phase for himself and the team now, rather than when the title is on the line.

“Fred’s support in me has been amazing,” Hamilton told the media ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

“It’s not been the perfect year, as we know, but it’s been a lot of learnings, and I think we’re just going from strength to strength. I think we are more solid and more united as a team than ever before.

“I think there’s clearly the things that we need to improve on, but we’re under no illusions that that’s the case, and everyone is just flat out focused on improving the processes and really right now, all the races are like that.

“Each race, we’re learning something. We look at the last race and our shortcomings, for example, are things that it’s better to have now when we’re not fighting for a championship, than in the moment when we are.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc head-to-head in F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Ferrari delivered a show of faith in Vasseur’s vision by signing him to a new multi-year contract in the summer, a hammer blow to reports in Italy questioning Vasseur’s future.

Hamilton digs the way Vasseur operates, which is no different now at Ferrari to when he was running ART.

Put to him that everyone changes in 19 years, Hamilton replied: “Not Fred. No. Fred still wears the same clothes, and he’s exactly the same as he was. Everything is exactly the same, generally, I would say.

“I always admired him heavily when I was in the lower categories. Just the way he worked with a team. He’s clearly a straight shooter, clearly a massive competitor. But I always admired, like, I came from a couple of different teams that they’re focused on… where they spent their money, was on other areas, and he was all about aerodynamics and performance.

“And that’s what he’s all about today. It’s just all about car performance, which I think is a strength of his.”

Ferrari are locked in combat with Mercedes and Red Bull over second in the Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari sits third, 27 points behind Mercedes.

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