Dec.1 (GMM) Ferrari’s late-season collapse has triggered one of the team’s ugliest weekends in recent memory, with Italian media and paddock rivals piling on as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc endured a near-backmarker car.
Team boss Frederic Vasseur insisted the root cause was an unexpected tyre-pressure jump mandated by Pirelli. “All the teams had to deal with a tyre-pressure problem,” he said.
“We ran the cars with six points higher pressure than in previous races and this was the key aspect. In Abu Dhabi we return to standard conditions – we can hope for a better weekend.”
But that explanation is widely seen as a huge understatement. Ferrari halted 2025 development early, morale is collapsing, and Hamilton is suffering perhaps the worst run of his career.
Vasseur admitted the psychological impact inside the cockpit has been real. “From tomorrow morning we get back to work,” said the Frenchman.
“But 90 percent of our workload is now focused on next year,” he said. “We must prepare for the potential of 2026.”
Corriere della Sera’s headline was brutal: “Ferrari is a disaster – 0.”
Hamilton, who has been hiding from photographers in the paddock, said he simply wants to escape after Abu Dhabi. “I’d like to be on a beach or surfing. I can’t wait to regain my energy.
“I can’t sleep at night anymore.”
He also blamed constant criticism. “The negativity from the media affects everyone. They go home and their wives say: ‘This is what they say about the people you work with.’ It has a huge impact.”
Vasseur told RMC he accepts responsibility for the early development switch. “It’s a gamble for next year. We were hoping for better this year, but had technical difficulties since the Bahrain tests,” he insisted.
He also defended Hamilton against suggestions it’s time to retire. “Psychologically we’re less focused on 2025 because we’re thinking about the future. Next year is a different championship.
“From the tests, the drivers will have to guide us.”
As for Leclerc, he says Ferrari must be honest – even after chairman John Elkann recently ordered the drivers to “talk less”.
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“At the start of the year I was convinced we’d done a good job, but it wasn’t enough,” he said. “We sacrificed two-thirds of the season for next year’s car. But it is surprising to be so far behind.
“I feel sorry for the fans. Our time will come – I believe in that – but this weekend was unacceptable.”
Hamilton also assessed his first Ferrari season bluntly.
“There are so many things that need to change,” he said. “We need to keep the good things and change the ones that didn’t work.”
Ralf Schumacher, meanwhile, didn’t hold back.
“Lewis hasn’t managed to integrate into the team,” he told Sky Deutschland. “He can’t adapt to the car. He’s stuck in the past – that’s normal for an older driver.
“My prediction? Difficult, and no longer solvable. Bearman should get the chance next year.”
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