Vasseur reveals why Ferrari hired seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has revealed the main reason that has motivated the Maranello-based outfit to sign seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 F1 season.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had signed a new deal with his current team in the summer of 2023, which would keep him at the squad through to the end of 2025.
However, activating a release option in his contract allowed Hamilton to put pen to paper with Ferrari, who he will join next season after his final campaign with Mercedes in 2024.
During an interview with Sky Italia, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur expressed his appreciation for the British champion, claiming that his experience has been one of the reasons the Scuderia elected to sign Hamilton.
“We sure we know the positive aspects of Lewis' arrival, such as his great experience. Everyone since the start of the season says Russell is faster than him, but at the moment he is the one who has brought the most points to Mercedes. So in terms of efficiency, I think it's a good point of reference.”
Hamilton will partner Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. The Monegasque has had a few hiccups over the past years as he tried to compete with drivers who had more competitive cars.
Speaking of Leclerc's performance, Vasseur noted that “he's had some problems over the last few weekends, but I still think he's lucid and the fact is that sometimes we have reacted exaggeratedly on a collective level.
Ferrari have endured serious issues with their upgrade package the team introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix. So severe was the bouncing on the SF-24, that the British Grand Prix saw the Maranello-based outfit revert to the old specification of floor and bodywork that was used prior to Barcelona upgrade.
The team has since introduced several tweaks to the floor which has mainly cured the issues.
Reflecting on the decision, Vassuer said: "Going back on the updates was not an easy decision, but we made it. We have lost 2 months, but we have other solutions in preparation and we are positive and dynamic.”
