Ferrari unable to deliver every Lewis Hamilton demand after 'shake-up' arrival

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has explained that he was not able to meet all of Lewis Hamilton's demands about how to fix the team. 

Hamilton said earlier this year that Vasseur had "moved mountains" in making changes the seven-time champion had requested ahead of 2026 following his poor 2025 season. 

It later emerged that one of these changes concerned the brake system of the Ferrari car, with Hamilton requesting the use of Carbon Industrie brake discs rather than the Brembo materials Ferrari has long used in its partnership with the firm. 

Throughout his tough first season, feeling on the brakes was one of Hamilton's major bugbears, but from the Japanese GP in March, Hamilton was able to use the CI material he had become accustomed to during his success-laden spell with Mercedes, where he took 84 wins and six of his seven titles in a 12-year stay.

Team-mate Charles Leclerc soon followed Hamilton's brake set-up after tough races in Canada and Monaco, but Vasseur has explained that every demand made of him by the drivers, including Hamilton, he cannot make happen.

"Yes, but we didn't do everything that he wanted," Vasseur told Autosport when asked if he had been able to follow every demand Hamilton had requested.

"But suggestions are always welcome. That's true for Lewis; it's true for Charles. It's true for every single driver. After every single event, they are coming with a list of things that they would like to improve.

"On this list, some are out of scope, because you can't do this for the team, and they can understand very quickly that, from a team perspective, it makes no sense for the cost cap or whatever it is.

"Sometimes they don't have the full vision of the situation, but at least it's good for me to understand where they feel we are weak. 

"Sometimes with their input you understand something because you were focused on the team vision, and you understand that for the drivers it's a bit different."

Turning to Hamilton's arrival and the championship-winning knowledge he brought with him from Mercedes, Vasseur felt it was "good to shake the system."

"It's good to shake the system a little bit." he said.

"If you stay in your bubble all your life with the same people, at one stage you will struggle to improve. It's true for the drivers. It's true for the engineers when you recruit people from other teams.

"One of the key qualities of drivers is to be able to contribute to the development of the team. The worst-case scenario is that when you start the discussion and you have the feeling that the other is trying to find an excuse, but when you have a good relationship, it's never an excuse.

"I think we have this positive attitude to help each other and to understand that the other can have a different view. 

"I'm not always right. I'm not always wrong, and it's only by collaboration, discussion, and exchange that we will improve."