Fred Vasseur looks back on the discussions with Lewis Hamilton that led to his transfer to Ferrari

The seven-time world champion has ended his 12 seasons with Mercedes to make a spectacular transfer to Ferrari, starting in 2025. The announcement made last February shook the F1 world and is considered one of the biggest driver transfers in the history of the championship.

During Ferrari’s annual Christmas lunch with the media, team director Fred Vasseur stated that it was not at all difficult to convince Lewis Hamilton to join the team. “In 2023, we won more races than Mercedes, so it was not difficult to convince him that Ferrari would be a good project,” explained Fred Vasseur.

« He had this project of driving for Ferrari in mind for at least 22 or 23 years, because we discussed it in 2004. This means it wasn’t too complicated. Sometimes it’s also a matter of coincidence or alignment of the planets: that he’s on the market, that Ferrari has a seat available, etc. The contact was easy. We started talking a year ago and it wasn’t hard to convince him, not at all. »

Fred Vasseur never worried about the form of Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton had a complicated last season at Mercedes, where his teammate George Russell beat him in qualifying throughout the year.

These difficulties over one lap led Lewis Hamilton, holder of the all-time record for pole positions in F1 with 104, to admit during the penultimate Grand Prix of the season in Qatar that he was definitely not as fast anymore. George Russell also finished the year 22 points ahead in the drivers’ championship, while Lewis Hamilton took 7th place in the standings, his worst career result.

However, Lewis Hamilton concluded his stint with Mercedes with a remarkable climb from 16th place on the grid to fourth place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, including an overtaking move on George Russell in the final lap after closing a 14-second gap.

Fred Vasseur insists that he has never, never, never been worried about Lewis Hamilton’s recent form. I think he went through a tough time in qualifying, but I don’t believe that the Abu Dhabi qualifying, for example, is related to Lewis’s performance.

« He had very good races in Vegas and Abu Dhabi. And I’ve never really, never, never, never been worried about it. This situation, and I’m not criticizing Lewis or Mercedes, but this situation is not easy to manage. I can understand that when things aren’t going very well, you might suffer in this relationship. »

« He wasn’t in a good place mentally, but he was clear about it, especially in Brazil. But he also finished very well in the last events, so I’m not worried at all », he said.

Lewis Hamilton will team up with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz, who moved to Williams. Charles, Lewis, I’m not particularly worried about it, said Vasseur. They have a huge mutual respect, they know each other, they’ve been discussing it for months now.