Lewis Hamilton maintains that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is integral to the squad’s future prospects. A few weeks after speculation about Vasseur’s Ferrari contract emerged, the 7-time Champion emphasised his belief in the Frenchman.
Hamilton: Vasseur knows how to make Ferrari a winning team
In many ways, Ferrari’s 2025 campaign has been a challenging one.
The Scuderia failed to build on their momentum at the end of last season, leaving them with an SF-25 that was nowhere near McLaren’s MCL39 at the first round in Australia.
Aside from a few exceptions, the first ten races of the year were disappointing for the Maranello outfit.
In terms of performance, Ferrari were too far behind McLaren to realistically fight for wins – and were effectively out of the title fight by the Spanish GP.
The team’s operational efficiency has also been brought into question, with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc expressing dissatisfaction with strategy on numerous occasions.
Focusing more specifically on Hamilton, the British driver’s adaptation to the SF-25 has not been easy.
The car’s characteristics do not suit his driving style, something which has been an apparent limiting factor throughout 2025.
With that said, Hamilton has given more positive feedback about the SF-25 since the Austria updates.
After a tidy British GP result, which came after a qualifying where Pole Position was on the cards, the 40-year-old reiterated his support for team principal Fred Vasseur:
“I think Fred is truly the right man to take us to the top,” Gazzetta quotes him as saying.
“That’s also why I’m working as hard as I can to support him and make the necessary changes, which are quite a few.
“I love working with Vasseur. He’s the reason I’m here, and we want to continue together. He has my full support.
“Fred brought me to this team, and so I owe him a lot.
“As soon as you arrive at a new team, you notice how great the organization is… And so you can clearly identify the positives and the negatives.”
A chance to catch rivals off guard
Although the wet conditions and general chaos of the British GP makes it difficult to assess performance, Ferrari can be quietly optimistic about their direction.
The SF-25 was a genuine contender for Pole Position, something that has not happened often in 2025.
This flash of promise came after a solid race in Austria, where Ferrari claimed a comfortable 3-4 as the second fastest team.
Given that Spielberg is not historically a strong track for the Maranello outfit, their pace was indicative of their updates working as intended.
Indeed, the consensus is that Ferrari’s first mid-season corrections met expectations.
These small changes will precede bigger changes in the next few weeks, primarily involving the rear suspension.
For many teams, Silverstone was the last time to introduce any meaningful changes in 2025.
For Ferrari, however, there is still more lap-time available if their next package delivers more performance and increases the SF-25’s operating window.
Because teams are now almost entirely focused on 2026, the Scuderia’s scheduled updates could define their second half of the year – as rivals will not bring big changes in response.
Main photo: Ferrari media gallery
