‘Point fingers somewhere else’ – Hamilton condemns ‘negative narrative’ around Vasseur’s leadership

Lewis Hamilton has offered his perspective on the “negative narrative” surrounding Fred Vasseur’s tenure as Ferrari Team Principal, giving his support to the Frenchman at a time when he believes “outside sources” seek to “break our spirit”.

Ferrari’s lack of podiums over the last five rounds fuelled speculation that Vasseur’s position was at risk, stoked further by comments from former Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who labelled the Scuderia his “dream” destination.

To address the situation, the team assembled selected media and shared their “full confidence” in Vasseur, adding: "Ferrari has made its choices already. At this time, it's really important that the team remains united and cohesive, and we focus all the energy on the work ahead.”

Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Hamilton was questioned on how he felt about the statement, with attention also drawn to how the rumours have impacted the squad's attitude heading into the remaining rounds.

“I think it's good that they did it,” he said. “In terms of how it unifies the team, I think we already were unified. Honestly, I think outside sources seem to be so negative towards us as a team and trying to break our spirit, but they're not succeeding.

“People can continue with the negative narrative but inside, everyone is working really hard. Fred is the guy to lead us, he's doing a fantastic job. If you look at the history, how many people they've swapped out in that role and I feel like it's in a better place than it's been before, but ultimately, it's not a one man situation.

“It's lots and lots of people coming together and if you want to point fingers, point them somewhere else. There's people above that are also part of it as well. It's a lot of people. I feel like we should take things away from this message, Fred's in his position, he's not going anywhere and I'm here to stay with him and I still believe fully in where we're going.”

There was hope that Hamilton’s spectacular maiden win for Ferrari in Barcelona would kickstart a title fight with Mercedes, but the team’s performances have declined since F1 returned from the summer break.

Although factors like a clash with Charles Leclerc in Monza and unfortunate brake issues in Madrid have contributed to results, Hamilton explained that their consistent hard work under Vasseur should be highlighted more than criticism.

“On a race weekend, other teams make mistakes, no one really says much about those but we make the same mistake and it's ten times worse for Ferrari, for whatever reason, and that's just how it is,” he told media at the Sepang International Circuit.

“On one side, I respect that they want to hold Ferrari to the highest level but ultimately, [we're] all human beings, we're all trying our hardest and showing up every weekend in, weekend out.

“We're second in the Constructors' Championship – huge improvement from last year already – and that's with a deficit on power of an average four tenths every single weekend. Sometimes it's six tenths, and we've still been delivering really decent performances, so that highlights just how great a job people at the factory have done.

“I think all the negativity takes away from that. Of course we're not where we want to be but if you go from last year, you don't go from last year's experience straight to number one. It's a process and I think we've built a good foundation this year, we need to continue to build on it. We're not perfect yet but I do believe we can get there.”

After a frustrating first campaign with Ferrari, Hamilton worked to improve his situation and get closer to matching his team mate, which has paid off. The Briton is currently 20 points ahead in the standings, and explained that he owes part of the transformation to Vasseur’s co-operation and understanding.

“I'm happy with my treatment,” he said. “Fred has been fantastic working with me and I think our relationship as a whole, even with the bosses, is in a much better place than it ever was. Of course, people making comments have absolutely no clue what they're talking about ultimately, because they're not inside the team.

“What's happening inside the team, how it's structured, what the weaknesses are, obviously I'm in the team and I know all those. I'm not going to speak on them but I will continue to try and work with those people that are in power to make the changes.

“Making changes is not a quick thing, people weren't always willing to do so early on but Fred has done a lot of the changes that I've asked for and there are more for us to do.”

Leclerc, who has driven under Vasseur since he replaced Mattia Binotto as Team Principal for the 2023 season, stated that he feels “exactly the same” as his team mate and dismissed the “crazy rumours”.

He said: “I think it's very clear the relationship I have with Fred but it goes a lot further than that. It's not only about a relationship but it's also about his capabilities and I think he's exceptional at what he does and I fully trust in Fred.

“Inside the team it's always been extremely clear that Fred has always had the support but for whatever reason, every three or four years there are those crazy rumours around the team. I've been [with the team for] quite a few years so I'm unfortunately getting used to these kinds of events.

“It's not easy and I don't think it's respectful either because we are all here trying to do our absolute best – sometimes we will do mistakes and sometimes we will do great things. But for people to take the opportunity whenever there's something that we could have done slightly better to start those rumours is just not nice.

“But one thing is sure – Fred has got all our support and we are very proud of having him with us inside the team and I hope that we can bring the team back on top as soon as possible in order to stop those silly rumours.”