Ferrari F1 boss issues statement after Hamilton start
Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur has responded to questions surrounding the team’s rocky start to the 2025 season, particularly in light of Lewis Hamilton’s highly anticipated arrival. Despite the fanfare surrounding the seven-time world champion’s move to the Scuderia, the partnership has yet to deliver the hoped-for results, leaving both Hamilton and the team facing early season struggles.
Hamilton’s transition to Ferrari was one of the most high-profile moves in recent F1 history. However, his impact on the team’s performance has been minimal thus far. Aside from a sprint race win, Hamilton has failed to make a significant mark, and currently finds himself down in eighth place in the drivers’ standings—behind even Williams driver Alex Albon. The team as a whole has underperformed, appearing to lack the pace necessary to challenge the frontrunners. This, coupled with a disastrous Chinese Grand Prix where both Hamilton and his teammate Charles Leclerc were disqualified, has left Ferrari trailing McLaren by a staggering 76 points in the constructors’ standings.
Despite the early setbacks, Vasseur remains composed and optimistic. Speaking through Formula1.com, he indicated that such a start is not unfamiliar territory for Ferrari. “I’m used to this because the last two years we started like this,” he explained. While he admitted that the situation is not ideal and expressed a preference for a stronger opening to the season, he emphasized that the team has no plans to alter its overall approach.
According to Vasseur, Ferrari had a similarly challenging start in recent seasons but managed to bounce back through consistent and calculated improvements. “We worked as a team, made small step by small step,” he said. He believes the key lies in continuing with the same methodical approach, focusing on incremental progress rather than drastic changes. While acknowledging that Ferrari may be slightly behind where they were in terms of performance at this stage last season, he pointed to the team’s resilience and ability to close the gap over time as a reason for confidence moving forward.
The broader question remains: can Ferrari realistically challenge for the championship in 2025? The previous season saw Ferrari pushing hard for the constructors’ title, ultimately falling just short in the final race in Abu Dhabi. Their five race victories in 2024 signaled a resurgence in form, raising hopes that the team could begin this season as true title contenders.
Unfortunately, that momentum appears to have stalled. The double disqualification in China was a major blow, removing valuable points from both drivers and sending them sliding down the championship table. Though the team managed to secure points in the following race in Japan, the gap to the front remains considerable. Ferrari engineers estimate they are currently 0.3 to 0.4 seconds per lap slower than McLaren—a margin that, while not insurmountable, is significant in the hyper-competitive world of Formula 1.
McLaren, for their part, have been nearly flawless through the opening rounds. With podium finishes in every race so far, they have established themselves as the benchmark team in the early part of the season. Their consistent performance stands in stark contrast to Ferrari’s mixed results and technical difficulties.
In summary, while Lewis Hamilton’s first outings in Ferrari red haven’t yet yielded the results fans hoped for, Vasseur is urging patience and persistence. He remains confident that the team’s slow but steady improvement strategy will bear fruit over the season. Whether this approach will be enough to mount a serious title challenge against the likes of McLaren remains to be seen—but Ferrari, it seems, is not panicking just yet.
