Vasseur Defiant Amid Ferrari Tensions Eyes Hamilton

Amid rising tensions at Ferrari, Fred Vasseur stays focused on the future, downplaying regrets as the team prepares for a major shift with Lewis Hamilton joining in 2025.

So far, team boss Fred Vasseur has almost categorically refused to talk at length about 2025—when Lewis Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz as Charles Leclerc’s teammate.

As a result, Sainz wants to show his best form as he looks for a new team for next year and beyond.

But Sainz went too far during the Sprint this morning, leading to heated exchanges with Leclerc. After some discussions described as quite tense at Ferrari, the Spaniard apologized. It has certainly started to heat up in the Ferrari garage…

Nonetheless, despite this hiccup, Sainz is still very performance-oriented. Some believe Vasseur might be right to regret choosing Hamilton or Leclerc over Sainz.

When AFP asked if he has any regrets, Vasseur replied, “Regrets isn’t the word.”

“I have immense respect and admiration for Carlos. I spent ten years trying to have him with me. I will have had him for two seasons, and we will have had exceptional moments. He took me to my first podium in F1 (when Sainz won the Singapore GP) and he won for us in Melbourne this year. He creates a positive dynamic in the team, but we have choices to make, and I think a team today cannot not try to have Lewis.”

How will Hamilton be able to impact the team’s dynamics?

“Because a driver’s contribution doesn’t end with his qualifying time. In our sport, there’s also motivating 1,500 people, recruitment, building a team, a project… Today, Lewis is unique, and we also need this form of stability and reference that we don’t necessarily have when we have two youngsters—regardless of the drivers’ talent and the friendship I have for them. With Lewis, we have it, he’s the absolute reference at this level. He’s also someone who knows wonderfully well how to balance his life between racing and outside—it will also help Charles in his progression.”

Vasseur also lifted the veil on this shocking transfer that surprised everyone in the sport two months ago.

“I rarely talked about what happened but let’s just say I never lost the connection with Lewis since 20 years ago (in Formula 3 Euroseries in 2005 and in GP2 Series in 2006). I think we both had it in the back of our minds, thinking that if the planets aligned—it would be quite fun. And I really felt he was the profile we were missing. A driver, whoever it is, brings a dynamic and expertise, a different way of seeing the race. And for many reasons, I think it was the right timing.”