Vasseur reveals long-term Hamilton plot for Ferrari move

Frederic Vassuer has revealed he spoke with Lewis Hamilton about a move to Ferrari as far back as 2004, over 20 years before he finally moved to the team.

Hamilton ended his long association with Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season, having exercised a break clause in the new two-year deal he signed in mid-2023 even before the '24 campaign had got underway. 

Hamilton is to partner Charles Leclerc at a Scuderia rejuvenated under Vasseur's leadership, falling just 14 points short of winning the constructors' title in 2024.

When asked about how difficult it had been to convince Hamilton to trade Brackley for Maranello, Vasseur indicated that he and Hamilton had discussed it when he ran ART Grand Prix in the junior categories when Hamilton was climbing the ladder himself.

"We won more races than Mercedes [in 2023], and the beginning of the season was good," Vasseur told select media including RacingNews365. 

"It was not too difficult to convince him that Ferrari would be a good project, and I think he had the project to drive for Ferrari on his mind for at least 22 or 23 years because we were discussing it in 2004. 

"It is a matter of coincidence, with all the planets aligning in that Ferrari has a seat available and so on, but the contract was an easy one that we started to discuss one year ago, and it was not too difficult to convince him."

"I've had contact with Lewis for 20 years, but [2024] was a bit more cautious, and we did not speak about technical collaborations for respect for Mercedes. 

"I have a good relationship with Mercedes and did not want to create a mess. We did have discussions, but not about technical [matters.]"