Ferrari group principal Frederic Vasseur has known as for endurance and composure from each Lewis Hamilton and the Italian aspect following the seven-time System 1 world champion’s difficult begin to life at Maranello. Talking after the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, the Ferrari group principal urged all events to “settle down” amid the early adaptation interval Hamilton is experiencing in his swap from Mercedes.
Hamilton, who joined Ferrari after spending over a decade with Mercedes, endured a irritating qualifying session in Bahrain, managing solely ninth place on the grid. In sharp distinction, his team-mate Charles Leclerc secured a front-row begin and finally introduced the automobile dwelling in fourth place, underlining the early efficiency hole between the 2 Scuderia drivers.
Regardless of the setback in qualifying, Hamilton confirmed promising tempo throughout Sunday’s race. The British driver briefly moved as much as second place in the course of the opening pit-stop part and finally completed fifth, marking his finest race outcome thus far in pink. Whereas Hamilton has overtly acknowledged the difficulties in adapting to Ferrari’s driving traits after 12 seasons at Mercedes, Fred Vasseur—who has recognized Lewis Hamilton since his junior formulation days—believes the variations are delicate however impactful. He emphasised that small efficiency margins are at the moment defining Hamilton’s outcomes and careworn the significance of sustaining a level-headed strategy because the group continues to develop.
After the dash race in China, Fred Vasseur reportedly mentioned the prize-giving ceremony with the media, reflecting on what he described as an entire catastrophe when it comes to how the occasion was managed. The French supervisor emphasised the necessity for a relaxed and measured strategy inside the group, noting that Ferrari tends to expertise emotional highs and lows extra intensely than others.
Fred Vasseur identified that if the group desires to keep up the constant mindset that has served them nicely over the previous two seasons, they need to stay composed and targeted on bettering by small margins—hundredths of a second at a time.
He acknowledged the frustration following Saturday’s qualifying session, explaining that Lewis Hamilton had been intently matched with Charles Leclerc from FP1 by means of Q2, with solely a few tenth separating them. Nevertheless, in Q3, Lewis Hamilton’s first lap was deleted and he made an error on the second, which proved expensive. Fred Vasseur famous that for the reason that grid is decided by the ultimate lap moderately than a median, any mistake can have vital penalties.
The Ferrari group principal admitted there was frustration on each side— Lewis Hamilton’s and the group’s—however was additionally fast to reward the British driver’s sturdy restoration. In keeping with Fred Vasseur, Lewis Hamilton delivered a strong race, climbing again to complete fifth, with a race time akin to the main automobiles. He reportedly described the efficiency as sturdy and constant, whereas additionally mentioning that in such a aggressive discipline, dropping simply two or three tenths in qualifying resulting from a mistake can imply dropping six or seven positions on the grid.