Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur says it ‘wasn’t difficult’ to convince the seven-time world champion to join | F1 News

Ferrari boss Frédéric Vasseur said it was “not difficult at all” to convince Lewis Hamilton to join the team from 2025 and that he was not worried about the seven-time champion’s struggling qualifying form during his final season at Mercedes. .

Vasseur also said the prospect of a competitive team-mate duel between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc would ultimately help the team’s bid to return to world title glory.

The Frenchman was speaking to the media at Ferrari headquarters in Maranello during the traditional Christmas lunch, weeks before Hamilton officially joined the team in a move that was first revealed in February.

While the timing of the blockbuster switch was ultimately unexpected, Vasseur, Hamilton’s former junior category team boss in the mid-2000s, admitted that getting the 39-year-old to sign was ultimately straightforward.

“We had more wins than Mercedes in 2023 and we had a good start to the season, so it wasn’t that difficult to convince Ferrari that it would be a good project,” Wasser said.

“And I think he had in mind a project in which he would drive for Ferrari for at least 22, maybe 23 years, because we discussed it in 2004.

“I meant it wasn’t that difficult.

“Sometimes I think it’s a matter of coincidence or all the planets aligning that he’s on the market and there’s room for Ferrari and things like that.

“But contacting him was easy. We started discussing it a year ago and it wasn’t difficult at all to convince him.”

Vasseur says ‘never, never, never worry’ in Hamiltonian form

The Briton will arrive at Italy’s effective national team as the most successful driver in F1 history, but Hamilton, who turns 40 on January 7, saw his final year at Mercedes marred by a particularly poor performance in qualifying.

Hamilton even suggested he was “definitely not fast any more” after finishing seventh in the sprint at the second round of the season in Qatar while team-mate George Russell was in the lead.

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

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

“I think he had some difficult moments at Qualley, but I don’t think Qualification in Abu Dhabi, for example, was linked to Lewis’ performance.

“He played very well in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi and I was not at all, really, not at all worried about the situation. This is the situation and I am not criticizing Lewis or Mercedes, but this is not an easy situation and it is going well. I understand that this relationship may cause difficulties if it doesn’t work out.

“He wasn’t very happy, but it was clear about this in Brazil, for example. But he’s performed very well in the last few competitions as well, so I’m not worried at all.”

‘Leclerc and Hamilton have tremendous mutual respect’

Since taking charge of Ferrari in early 2023, Vasseur has been clear in implementing an approach that neither Leclerc nor his team-mate Carlos Sainz will prioritize.

The Frenchman will look to maintain the same balance with the new driver combination and insisted the competitive battle between Leclerc and Sainz has been a major factor in the team’s overall progress.

In an exclusive interview Sky Sports NewsVasseur said: “I prefer a 1-2 fight to a 19-20, this is clear!

“I think that’s part of the performance as well. Obviously, the last two years I’ve had them racing on the track and the emulations we’ve created like this have been for the benefit of the team because it’s been part of the recovery when we’ve been through some tough times.

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

Hamilton and Leclerc have shared a respectful relationship since the Monegasque joined the grid in 2018 and Vasseur is confident that this relationship can continue at Ferrari.

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

When will Hamilton get to drive a Ferrari for the first time?

Hamilton will not be able to drive Ferrari’s 2025 Challenger until pre-season testing in Bahrain from February 26 to 28, but there is plenty of interest as to when the Briton will take to the track in the older car model.

Vasseur said he expected the “emotional” first outing for Hamilton to take place at some point in January, although he could not provide an exact date due to unpredictable winter weather at Ferrari’s private Fiorano circuit.

“Maybe, but it’s not easy in January because it depends on the weather,” Vasseur said.

“It’s true that it’s quite emotional because I think he’s had this moment in his mind for probably 20 years. That means it’s going to be emotional, but you have to be emotional and focused for one lap!”

Vasseur said Ferrari had no plans to organize any special media events to introduce Hamilton as a Ferrari driver. The team principal believes F1’s official season launch on February 18 and Ferrari’s own launch a day later will be enough.

“We will have the first test day with TPC (previously known as Car Test) and Pirelli, and then the championship will start first (at The O2) on the 18th. (in February), the vehicle will be launched on the 19th, then go straight to Bahrain and go through the difficult process of getting to Melbourne.

“But it’s true that preparations are short, as we only spent about four weeks at the factory before the first event, but I think that’s the case.”

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