FRED VASSEUR: Ferrari ‘st#pid’ to expect SEAMLESS Hamilton trip…read more
Vasseur: Ferrari naïve to believe Hamilton would adapt instantly
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has admitted it was “naïve” to expect Lewis Hamilton to instantly settle into Maranello after leaving Mercedes, acknowledging that both sides misjudged how big a challenge the transition would be.
Hamilton’s move from Mercedes was seen as the start of a new golden era for Ferrari, with hopes that his arrival would fast-track the Scuderia back into championship contention. Instead, the reality has been more complicated. Despite an early triumph in the Chinese sprint race, Hamilton’s season has been turbulent, with inconsistent results and no podium finishes yet to his name. By contrast, teammate Charles Leclerc has regularly outperformed him, widening the gap between expectation and reality.
Vasseur believes the root of the problem lies not in Hamilton’s talent, but in the difficulty of adapting after such a long spell in one team culture. “Both Lewis and I underestimated the size of the shift,” Vasseur explained in an interview with The Race. “He spent nearly 20 years in a Mercedes framework. From McLaren’s close links with Mercedes to his entire Mercedes career, he was surrounded by the same culture, the same environment. Then suddenly he arrived at Ferrari, and we assumed he could just click straight into it. That was unrealistic.”
The Frenchman contrasted Hamilton’s stability with the more nomadic career of Carlos Sainz, who before Ferrari had already driven for Toro Rosso, Renault, and McLaren, and is now at Williams. “Carlos had grown used to switching teams and adapting quickly,” Vasseur said. “Lewis was the opposite — he had continuity for almost two decades. That makes the change much harder.”
Cultural adjustments also played a significant role. According to Vasseur, the difference between the working methods in Brackley and those in Maranello is far greater than what Hamilton had previously experienced moving from McLaren to Mercedes. “We didn’t factor in just how different the cultures are,” he admitted. “It took him four or five races before he started to feel in control. From Canada through Austria, you could see his rhythm improving. Spa was difficult because of qualifying, but the race itself showed progress. Hungary, too, was closer than the results suggested.”
Hamilton’s visible frustrations, including self-criticism after the Hungarian Grand Prix where he labelled himself “useless,” do not concern Vasseur. He explained that Hamilton has always been hard on himself and those around him — but in a way that drives higher standards. “He was the same at Mercedes,” Vasseur said. “He pushes the engineers, the mechanics, but above all he pushes himself. That’s why people respect it. If a driver demands a lot but also puts in the work himself, it inspires the team rather than discourages them.”
For Vasseur, Hamilton’s intensity is a positive, not a problem. He even compared it to Nico Hulkenberg’s approach during his junior racing days, where relentless demands were matched by his own commitment, earning respect from those around him.
Although Ferrari and Hamilton have not yet achieved the instant success many hoped for, Vasseur remains confident that the ingredients for success are in place. He sees the struggles less as signs of a doomed partnership and more as proof of how complex it is to restart after so many years in one system.
And if Hamilton’s career has taught anything, it is that he rarely takes long to turn setbacks into comebacks.
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