Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur sees a big difference between Lewis Hamilton now and a year ago. The driver made his debut with Ferrari in 2025, but it did not go entirely according to plan. Hamilton did not even reach the podium once and ended his Ferrari debut season in a down mood. Vasseur explains what is different in 2026 for the seven-time world champion at the Scuderia.
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Lewis Hamilton underwent his first Formula 1 season without a trip to the podium in 2025. It was far from the dream Ferrari debut for the seven-time world champion, who after the final race in Abu Dhabi also declared he was completely done with the top class for a while. However, Hamilton bounced back and started the 2026 season full of optimism. That paid off, as he stood on the podium in Ferrari red for the first time in Shanghai.
‘Big step forward in the winter’
Team principal Frédéric Vasseur is asked by The Race whether he doubted Hamilton’s switch last year. “We were more focused on helping Lewis to get him in the right place. Otherwise, the performances would not come,” said the Ferrari team principal. “The year started very well, but then it really went up and down. But Lewis was also the first to understand where he needed to put in extra effort, and building a bond with people takes time. It’s strange, because you spend 24 weekends together, but on the other hand, the race weekend is not the right place to get to know each other. Sometimes you can do that better outside the circuit. I think he made a big step forward in the winter.”
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The Frenchman also knows why Hamilton feels better in Ferrari red a year later. “Lewis is now involved from the start (of the development of the 2026 car, ed.),” Vasseur continues. “If as a driver you get into the simulator in June and ask yourself: ‘Okay, what about the suspension for next year?’, and we ask the drivers: ‘What do you think, what do you want to do?’, then you have much more confidence. You then feel that you are the basis (of the car’s development, ed.). He also feels today that he has been involved from the start of the project (the 2026 car, ed.), which is really very useful from a psychological and technical point of view.”
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