Former F1 driver David Coulthard believes Lewis Hamilton's result at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was a “welcome respite” for Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur.
For several weeks, there has been mounting scrutiny on Vasseur's shoulders, with increased speculation that he could be heading for the exit door at the Maranello-based squad.
The rumours kicked up another notch when Christian Horner declared he would accept a non-shareholding role at Ferrari if he was offered the team boss role.
Ferrari moved to squash the speculation ahead of the race event in Sepang by declaring it was backing Vasseur, who has been in the role for almost four years.
After opting to start the race on the wrong tyre in varying weather conditions, both Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc plummeted down the order. However, both recovered to end the race in third and fourth, respectively.
Coulthard has theorised that this will ease the pressure on Vasseur's shoulders.
"Hamilton's result shows that it's not over until it's over," Coulthard told the Up to Speed podcast.
"There were a bunch of circumstances that brought him back into it, but if you lost your head and then threw in the towel, he would never have been able to achieve that.
"It's probably a welcome respite for Fred from the criticisms that he's had."
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Ferrari 'finding their form'
Hamilton has endured a largely positive campaign with Ferrari, getting a breakthrough win in Barcelona and adding multiple podiums to his list of successes.
While hopes of an eighth title have been all but extinguished, Coulthard stated it has been a campaign for him to be proud of.
"Lewis, after qualifying [in Malaysia], was giddy with excitement about how good the car was and that he had qualified second," he said.
"He was complimentary about the procedures within the garage and how they went about getting him out on the track in the right space.
"So it feels like out of some disappointments this year, they're finding their form.
"It also shows again that Lewis has consistently just got that little edge over Charles, which wasn't the case in year one.
"He seems to have found a comfort and a zone there, so it'll be interesting to watch that intra-team battle."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, but also look ahead to this weekend's race in Singapore. The confusing and shocking start is a major talking point as is Red Bull's rise.
Rather watch the podcast? Click here!
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