Fred Vasseur does not believe Lewis Hamilton's resurgence at Ferrari is down to a single "game-changing" factor, but rather an accumulation of the sum of the parts of a series of "small stones."
From the nine races held in 2026 thus far, Hamilton has claimed five podiums, including a long-awaited first grand prix win for the Scuderia in Barcelona, and is third in the drivers' championship, just 32 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli.
This is in contrast to the worst season of Hamilton's career in 2025 during his first year with Ferrari, in which he failed to claim a single podium finish, and branded himself "useless" and pondered whether Ferrari should "sign another driver" following a poor qualifying in Hungary.
The 2026-spec car is, by design, more attuned to Hamilton's driving style compared to the ground effect rules, and Hamilton has forced through changes, with Vasseur's support, including the use of Carbon Industries brake discs, with Ferrari having a long-standing deal with Brembo.
The seven-time champion has also spoken of being able to impart his "DNA" into the design of the SF-26 machine from conceptualisation to birth, something he did not have with the Carlos Sainz-inherited 2025 car.
Reflecting on Hamilton's turnaround, Vasseur does not believe there is a single "game-changer" moment but lots of small changes coming together to unlock performance.
"I think it’s coming from both sides,” Vasseur told media, including RacingNews365, of Hamilton's return to form.
"That we know Lewis more, and he knows the team more, that we work on [this] car from the beginning, because he was there when we started the project a year ago.
"Small stone after small stone, it’s not that there is a game-changer; it’s not a single stone; it’s much more aligned today.
"The car is probably also better than last year, for sure, and step-by-step we are improving."
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