Apr.22 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur could not hold back the expletives as he slammed recent reporting about Lewis Hamilton’s struggle to get up to speed at Ferrari.
There is no doubt that the seven time world champion is yet to live up to the pre-season hype of his move from Mercedes, with Ferrari boss Vasseur even admitting as he departed Jeddah: “He’s having too many ups and downs.”
The partisan Italian media agrees, with La Gazzetta dello Sport declaring that Hamilton has so far fallen “well short of expectations”.
But Vasseur was particularly triggered by a reporter who asked the Frenchman why he thinks 40-year-old Hamilton’s personal performance has dropped so “dramatically” in 2025.
“Dramatically?” Vasseur exclaimed. “We did five races so far!
“I know you want a big headline saying ‘Fred said this’ but this is f**king bulls**t.”
Vasseur said the kind of “ups and downs” he referred to earlier are normal in a sport, making clear that he will continue to support Hamilton’s push to find his form.
“I will be 2000 per cent behind him,” he insisted. “I’m not worried at all. We’ll start to find solutions and we will start immediately to discover the causes.”
Vasseur said he thinks Hamilton is sometimes treated differently from other drivers. “I suspect that you didn’t draw the same conclusion with Max (Verstappen) when he was seventh last week.”
As for the journalist at the receiving end of Vasseur’s anger, the Ferrari boss continued: “You just do what you want. I’m not going to worry about you.”
However, the reporter is not the only one critical of Hamilton – or even Vasseur. Well-known Italian F1 insider Leo Turrini said of the 56-year-old Frenchman who runs the Ferrari team: “Vasseur’s balance sheet says this – one podium in five races.
“Is that enough? Not at all. Can we imagine a better future? Maybe, even if the disappointment is palpable – especially considering that there is another Ferrari, the one from the WEC, that wins,” Turrini added.
As for Hamilton, Turrini continued: “That he is slower than Leclerc on a lap, well, I took it for granted. The point is the size of the gap.
“Now, I don’t like attacks, and I supported Lewis’ hiring and I hope he can prove right those who – like me – believed in the sporting validity of the signing.
“We’ll see, while keeping in mind that the doubts of many are legitimate.”
Spanish commentator Antonio Lobato, however, suspects Ferrari made the decision to oust Carlos Sainz in favour of Hamilton with commercial interests front of mind.
“Is this what they wanted – to sell caps and t-shirts and nothing more?” he said on DAZN. “I say if you really want to take over social media and sell a lot of caps, sign Jennifer Lopez instead – and you might sell even more.”
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