Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur says convincing the seven-time world champion to join ‘wasn’t difficult’ | Formula 1 news

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur says it is “not difficult at all” to convince Lewis Hamilton to join the team from 2025, and he has no concerns about the seven-time champion’s troubled form during his final season at Mercedes.

Vasseur also said the prospect of a competitive duel between teammate Hamilton and Charles Leclerc would ultimately be a good thing for the team as it bids to return to world title glory.

The Frenchman was speaking at Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello during the traditional Christmas lunch with the media, just weeks before Hamilton officially joined the team in a transfer deal first revealed in February.

While the timing of the astonishing switch ultimately came out of the blue, Vasseur – Hamilton’s former team boss in the junior ranks in the mid-2000s – admitted it was ultimately easy to convince the 39-year-old to sign.

“In 2023 we won more races than Mercedes, and the start of the season was also good, so it was not difficult to convince him that Ferrari would be a good project,” Vasseur said.

“And I think he had the project of driving for Ferrari in mind for at least 22 years, or 23 years, because we were discussing this in 2004.

“That means it wasn’t too difficult.

“I think sometimes it’s also a matter of chance, or the alignment of all the planets, that it’s on the market and that Ferrari has a seat available, etc.

“But the connection was easy. We started discussing a year ago, and it was not difficult to convince him at all.”

Vasseur “never worried at all” about Hamilton’s model

While the Briton will make it into the effective Italian national team as the most successful driver in Formula 1 history, Hamilton – who turns 40 on January 7 – has seen his final year at Mercedes affected by an uncharacteristically poor qualifying performance.

Hamilton even noted at the penultimate round of the season in Qatar that he was “definitely not that fast anymore” after qualifying seventh for the Sprint race while teammate George Russell was on the front row.

But when asked what he thought of such comments, Vasseur pointed to Hamilton’s progress from 16th on the grid to fourth in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as evidence of his new driver’s unwavering speed.

“Ask the question to Russell on Sunday,” Vasseur said, referring to Hamilton passing his teammate on the final lap of the season.

“I think he had a difficult moment in qualifying, but I also don’t think the Abu Dhabi qualifier, for example, was linked to Lewis’ performance.

“He had very good races in Vegas and Abu Dhabi. I was never – really, never, ever, ever – worried about this situation. This situation, and I’m not criticizing Lewis or Mercedes, but this situation is not easy.” And I can understand that if things don’t go well, you could suffer in this relationship.

“He wasn’t in a very good state in his mind, but he was clear in Brazil about that, for example. But he also performed very well in the last two events, so I’m not worried at all.”

“Leclerc and Hamilton have great mutual respect.”

Since taking charge of Ferrari at the start of 2023, Vasseur has been clear in implementing an approach whereby Leclerc or teammate Carlos Sainz is not prioritised.

The Frenchman insisted he would seek to maintain the same balance with the new driver duo, insisting that the competitive battle between Leclerc and Sainz was a key factor in the team’s overall progress.

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports NewsVasseur said: “I would rather fight for first and second place than 19-20, that’s clear!

“I think that’s also part of the performance. Obviously the last two years I’ve allowed them to race on track and that’s been to the team’s advantage because the simulation we created in this way was part of the recovery when we went through tough times.

“They (Leclerc and Sainz) had a lot of respect between them.”

Hamilton and Leclerc have had a respectful relationship since the Monaco driver joined the grid in 2018, and Vasseur is confident he can continue at Ferrari.

He added: “Charles Lewis, I’m not particularly worried about this. They have great mutual respect, know each other, and have been talking about this for months.”

When will Hamilton drive a Ferrari for the first time?

While Hamilton will not be able to drive the 2025 Ferrari until pre-season testing in Bahrain from February 26-28, there is a lot of interest around when the Briton will take to the track in an older model of the car.

Vasseur said the unpredictable winter weather at Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit meant he could not give a specific date, but what he expected to be an “emotional” first outing in red for Hamilton would take place sometime in January.

“Maybe yes, but we depend on the weather. It’s not easy in January,” Vasseur said.

“It’s true that it’s very emotional because I think he’s still got that moment in his mind for probably 20 years. That means it’s going to be emotional – but it has to be emotional for one lap and then it’s in focus!”

Vasseur said that Ferrari does not plan to arrange any special media events to introduce Hamilton as a Ferrari driver, as the team president believes that the official launch of the Formula 1 season on February 18, and the launch of Ferrari the next day are sufficient.

“We will have the first testing days with TPC (Testing Previous Cars) and Pirelli and then launch the championship first (at the O2) on the 18th. (February), then the car will be launched on the 19th and then we will head directly to Bahrain and it will be a difficult series until Melbourne.

“But it is true that this is a short preparation because we have almost four weeks in the factory before the first event, but it is what it is.”

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