Ferrari crew principal Frederic Vasseur says he’s “not fearful” about Lewis Hamilton’s struggles in his closing season with Mercedes.
Hamilton formally joins Ferrari within the new yr after a season wherein George Russell comprehensively outperformed the seven-time champion in qualifying.
Russell completed 22 factors forward of Hamilton within the championship as every Mercedes driver gained two grands prix.
Vasseur admitted Hamilton had had however added that he was “by no means, by no means, by no means fearful concerning the scenario”.
The Frenchman pointed to Hamilton’s “superb races” in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi on the finish of the season and mentioned he believed that had an impression on his performances. Hamilton signed for Ferrari in January, greater than a month earlier than the 2024 season began.
Vasseur mentioned: “I’m actually satisfied, and I do not wish to blame Lewis or Mercedes, that this case just isn’t straightforward to handle and I can perceive if it’s not going properly you possibly can endure on this relationship.
“He was not very properly in his thoughts and he was clear about this in Brazil however he additionally did very properly on the final couple of occasions and I’m not fearful in any respect.”
Managing Hamilton and Leclerc
Vasseur, who was talking at Ferrari’s conventional Christmas media lunch, was instrumental in Hamilton becoming a member of Ferrari due to the pair’s lengthy relationship since they labored collectively within the junior classes 20 years in the past.
Requested how he would deal with the aggressive rigidity between Hamilton and his new team-mate Charles Leclerc, Vasseur mentioned this was “at all times a problem” between drivers in the identical crew, however that it could push Ferrari ahead.
“Charles, Lewis, I’m not significantly fearful about this,” Vasseur mentioned. “They’ve an enormous mutual respect, they know one another, they’ve been speaking about this for months now.
“It’s a lot better to combat for first and third or second and third than to combat for nineteenth and twentieth. It’s a good challenge for a crew to have this type of dialogue and method and I’m actually satisfied once more that the efficiency of the crew is coming from the emulation between the 2.”
Assimilation into Ferrari
Vasseur admitted that Hamilton and the crew confronted one other “problem” in getting in control collectively within the two and a half months between his becoming a member of and the beginning of the season in Australia on 14-16 March.
Hamilton is because of drive a 2023 Ferrari early within the new yr as he begins his work to assimilate into his new crew.
Vasseur refused to offer a date for this check, saying it was “intently linked to the climate”. It’s anticipated to be at considered one of Ferrari’s check tracks, Fiorano on the manufacturing unit or Mugello in Tuscany.
Ferrari haven’t given any additional particulars of their plans for Hamilton earlier than the official pre-season check in Bahrain on 26-28 February.
“It’s not straightforward however he’s coming together with his personal expertise,” Vasseur mentioned. “He isn’t the rookie of the yr, I’m not fearful in any respect about this.
“We all know that now we have lots of process to assimilate throughout this couple of days however he’s skilled sufficient to do it.
“Now we have the benefit to have the simulator and he’ll be capable to do a race simulation and a qualifying simulation within the simulator and to be totally ready with the steering wheel and all of the particularities of the automobile. However I’m not fearful about this and it’s not the most important problem.”
Hamilton is anticipated to maneuver right into a property in Italy, doubtless in Milan, as a part of his swap to Ferrari.
Vasseur, who like Hamilton doesn’t converse Italian, mentioned he had no recommendation to offer him by way of adapting to Italy and the brand new crew apart from “to keep away from to take an excessive amount of pasta, for the ballast”.
Wanting ahead to 2025
Ferrari will launch their 2025 automobile in Maranello on 19 January, the day after F1’s first official “season launch”, which is being held on the O2 in London.
Vasseur mentioned Hamilton would don’t have any additional public engagements for the crew.
“Now we have to be totally centered on the season,” he mentioned. “It is going to be a really tight interval between the primary day and the launch and I wish to have everyone totally centered on efficiency.
“Now we have the launch of the championship and the launch of the automobile. It’s two occasions and for me it’s far an excessive amount of. Or it’s far sufficient, for instance. I wish to be centered on improvement and efficiency and never on the present.”
And Vasseur spoke for the primary time about his talks with Hamilton final winter that led to him becoming a member of Ferrari.
“In 2023 we gained extra races than Mercedes so it was not tough to persuade him Ferrari could be a very good venture,” he mentioned.
“He had the venture to drive for Ferrari in his thoughts for not less than 22 or 23 years as a result of we have been discussing this in 2004. It was not too tough.
“Generally it is usually a matter of coincidence or to align all of the planets, that he’s available on the market, that Ferrari have a seat out there and so forth. The contact was a straightforward one. We began to debate one yr in the past and it was not tough to persuade him.”
Ferrari misplaced out on the constructors’ championship to McLaren by 14 factors on the closing race of 2024 and Vasseur mentioned he anticipated subsequent season to be one other shut combat between the highest 4 groups, together with Crimson Bull and Mercedes.
“What now we have to do to win subsequent yr is about particulars,” he mentioned. “We made good enhancements in each space however we’re nonetheless lacking 14 factors within the championship. It’s a lot and nearly nothing, it’s a DNF, a race incident, a strategic determination.
“We’re talking about particulars on each single pillar. Each single mistake, each determination will make an enormous determination. I’m certain subsequent yr the championship might be additionally tight and we will not let one level run away.”
