Vasseur: Hamilton and Ferrari Must Improve for 2026

Vasseur Admits Underestimation of Hamilton’s Challenges at Ferrari

The Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur, has acknowledged that he underestimated the challenges Lewis Hamilton would face in his first season with the team. Despite the difficulties, Vasseur is confident that small details will make a big difference in 2026. Hamilton joined Ferrari from Mercedes at the beginning of the year, but the dream of fighting for victories with the Italian team quickly turned into what the seven-time champion described as a “nightmare”. For the first time in his 19-year career, Hamilton completed a season without a podium finish and was outqualified 19 times by his teammate Charles Leclerc. Vasseur emphasized that Hamilton often lagged behind by relatively small margins compared to Leclerc, but admitted that the challenge Hamilton faced was greater than he initially anticipated.

I think it was difficult for Lewis, and probably that’s too small a word, but it was difficult because after 20 years, I say 20 years because for me McLaren was McLaren-Mercedes and then Mercedes, he spent 20 years with Mercedes, it was a huge change.

Fred Vasseur

Vasseur explained that Hamilton’s adaptation to Ferrari was more complex than expected, due to differences in software, components, and personnel. He pointed out that the lack of control in every detail cost valuable seconds, something crucial in such a competitive field. Vasseur pointed out that improvements must come from both the team and the driver for Hamilton to reach his full potential in 2026. He emphasized the importance of improving collaboration and mutual understanding. Vasseur also believes that improvements will come as Hamilton and Ferrari understand each other better over time, an advantage that Leclerc has built over seven years with the team.