Lewis Hamilton has revealed that his relationship with Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur was a crucial factor behind his decision to sign for the Scuderia.
Hamilton will leave Mercedes after the current campaign and link up with Ferrari on a multi-year deal.
After being associated with Mercedes for over two decades, Hamilton's decision to quit the team took many by surprise as he had signed an extension with Mercedes several months before his Ferrari decision.
The two-year deal had a break clause, allowing Hamilton to activate it when an opportunity to join Ferrari arose.
The seven-time world champion will again link up with Vasseur after working with the Frenchman during his junior career, which saw them win the Formula 3 and GP2 titles together.
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The Vasseur factor
Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, Hamilton voiced his excitement in again entering a project with Vasseur.
“I've a great relationship with Fred,” said the 39-year-old. “Obviously, I raced with him in Formula 3. We had amazing success in F3 and also in GP2.
“That's really where the foundation of our relationship started. We just always remained in touch.
“I thought that he was going to be an amazing team manager at some stage and progress to F1 but at the time, he wasn't interested in that.
“It was really cool to see him step into the Alfa [Romeo] team and then when he got the job at Ferrari, I was just so happy for him.
“The stars aligned, it really wouldn't have happened without him. So I'm really grateful and really excited about the work that he's doing there.”
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