Fred Vasseur backs Lewis Hamilton after uneven Ferrari beginning

Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari, as well as his arrival at the Scuderia, dominated the Formula 1 headlines for the past year. A seven-time Drivers’ Champion heading to one of the iconic teams in the sport? The headlines wrote themselves.

However, the headlines have not been as positive as the Tifosi may have hoped. While Hamilton did secure his first Ferrari win in the F1 Sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, his results have been rather uneven since joining the team. His best Grand Prix finish, a P5, came at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He’s also delivered a pair of P7 finishes (in Japan and Saudi Arabia), a P10 in his debut at the Australian Grand Prix, and a disqualification after his SF-25 failed post-race inspections at the Chinese Grand Prix itself.

Those results have Hamilton sitting on 31 points this season, and seventh in the standings.

He is also seven points behind rookie Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old driver who replaced him at Mercedes.

Still, Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur remains confident in the team’s newest driver, as the Team Principal gave an emotional endorsement of Hamilton following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Speaking with the assembled media after the race, Vasseur addressed Hamilton’s own comments after the race — that it would be a “struggle” for him this season — by backing his driver.

“I will be 2000 percent behind him. I will give him support and we will start from tomorrow morning to try to find solutions and reasons and to work on it early in the morning,” began Vasseur.

“But honestly, I am not too worried. If you have a look on what he did in China or what he did in the race in Bahrain last week or even on the first part of the session in this weekend, the potential is there for sure.”

Vasseur then highlighted areas the team wants to improve the SF-25 for Hamilton, and therefore his performance.

“We just have to adjust the balance because we are, collectively, Lewis and us, we are struggling with the balance of his car and [how] he is working the tires,” continued Vasseur. “It’s a kind of negative spot but I think the potential of the car is there and we will try to solve that.”

The Ferrari boss was then pressed on Hamilton’s performance, and how the results had fallen off “dramatically.” Vasseur disavowed that viewpoint, noting that we are just five race weekends into the season.

“It’s not dramatically. We did five races so far,” started Vasseur. “At the end of the day, we are in competition. You have ups and downs. When we have up, we are not world champions. When we have down, we are not nowhere. It’s just a competition.

The competition is tight.

“You have 10 cars and a couple of tenths. Have a look at Max [Verstappen]. He won in Japan. He finished 30 seconds behind [Oscar] Piastri in Bahrain, and in Saudi Arabia he was P2 and had pole position.”

The Ferrari boss also took solace in Hamilton’s frustration. In his eyes, the fact that the legendary driver was frustrated is a good thing, because it illustrates his competitive spirit, and his desire to succeed.

“It’s not a transitional time, but for sure he’s down because when you finish the race in sixth your team-mate is on the podium,” Vassuer said.

“Honestly, I take it as positive that Lewis is down because if he was happy with this, it wouldn’t be normal. He’s a racer, he’s a competitor, he wants to get the best from what he has and for sure he’s disappointed.

“Now we have to work together to react together, and it will be the only way to move forward.”

Vasseur’s comments are more than a team boss backing their driver, they are a complete and accurate reflection of where we are in this F1 season. The competition is tight, and Vasseur’s illustration regarding Verstappen is a good point. One week you can be fighting at the front of the field, the next you can be fighting for Q3.

Then there is the adjustment period that Hamilton is going through. While Vasseur dismissed the idea that this is a “transitional” season for the legendary driver, he is having to unlearn everything he did at Mercedes and learn a new operation at Ferrari. Right down to the steering wheel. Ferrari made some accommodations for Hamilton to mirror what he was familiar with given his Mercedes days, but as the driver admitted before the season, it takes time.

“It’s rare that you jump in and it just fits,” Hamilton admitted ahead of pre-season testing.

“All the switch settings are completely different. The software is different and everything. I am adapting to a car that’s made quite differently to what I’ve worked with in the past.”

This will take time, but Vasseur has his back.

As he should.