Vasseur Suggests It 'Was Not Difficult' To Convince Hamilton To Join Ferrari

Thursday, 19 December 2024 at 21:00

Fred Vasseur asserted that it wasn't difficult to convince Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari's project, and he explained why.

The seven-time World Champion was asked about joining Ferrari multiple times throughout his career, and although it was Lewis Hamilton's childhood dream, he didn't make a move until his 18th season in Formula 1.

Paradoxically, the 39-year-old decided to leave Mercedes and join the team from Maranello despite the fact that Silver Arrows finished ahead of Ferrari in the 2023 Constructors' Championship.

However, the team principal of the Italian F1 team, Fred Vasseur says that the trajectory of Ferrari was already evident at that time and that the seven-time World Champion did not need a lot of convincing. As quoted by BBC, he said:

"In 2023, we won more races than Mercedes, so it was not difficult to convince him Ferrari would be a good project."

"He had the project to drive for Ferrari in his mind for at least 22 or 23 years because we were discussing this in 2004. It was not too difficult."

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How does Vasseur know what Lewis Hamilton was thinking in 2024? The Frenchman was Hamilton's team principal during his time in Formula 3 and Formula 2 (GP2).

The two won both Championships together, and while they haven't worked together since then, they have maintained a very good relationship, and their paths are set to cross again in 2025, this time in F1.

"Sometimes it is also a matter of coincidence or to align all the planets, that he is on the market, that Ferrari have a seat available and so on."

"The contact was an easy one. We started to discuss one year ago and it was not difficult to convince him."

At the end of 2024, it seems like Hamilton made the right decision. Ferrari was one of the fastest cars on the grid towards the end of the year and missed out on the Constructors' Championship by a mere 14 points. In terms of what his plan is for 2025 with Hamilton onboard, Vasseur added:

"What we have to do to win next year is about details. We made good improvements in every area but we are still missing 14 points in the championship."

"It is a lot and almost nothing, it is a DNF, a race incident, a strategic decision. We are speaking about details on every single pillar."

"Every single mistake, every decision will make a huge decision. I am sure next year the championship will be also tight and we can't let one point run away."