Ferrari deliver clear Lewis Hamilton message as F1 woes continue

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has highlighted the element of trust with Lewis Hamilton has not been broken despite a difficult on-track period.

Hamilton has not enjoyed a successful opening season with the Italian squad after making the switch from Mercedes this year.

Ferrari has not yet taken a grand prix victory this year - the only team inside the top four that has failed to do so - while Hamilton is still awaiting his first podium with the team.

Reflecting on the early season excitement when Hamilton joined,  Vasseur told The Athletic: “Lewis came with a huge expectation and motivation and everything,”.

“I think that with Lewis, at the beginning… in French we say ‘tout neuf’ — all nice, all new. And we have to calm down. 

“Mercedes has some items they are doing better, and we are doing better on some other items.”

Hamilton's peak performance this year came in China, where he secured the sprint pole position and the shorter race victory.

The 40-year-old has largely been outpaced by team-mate Charles Leclerc during the year, leaving Hamilton to place much of his focus on 2026 when fresh technical regulations will come into play.

As the two parties seek to construct a strong partnership going forward, Vasseur asserted that no sense of trust has been broken.

“I would say around Barcelona, he came back strong,” he said.

“He’s improving into the composition of the team. The team is improving into the composition of Lewis. So we have to make a kind of ‘mayonnaise’ now!

“We need to improve step by step. I know that I can trust him and he knows that he can trust me, and this is important.

“He knows that I will be fully dedicated to the team performance.”