Fred Vasseur explains exactly what Lewis Hamilton will bring to Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur looks forward to the performance, but also fresh vision which Lewis Hamilton will introduce.

Hamilton ensured that the latest F1 ‘silly season’ got underway early and in an emphatic way with the announcement that he would become a Ferrari driver from 2025, as he now navigates his final season with Mercedes, the team which he has been with since 2013 and where he won six of his seven World Championships.

Hamilton is well-accustomed to racing under Vasseur’s watch and guidance, having won the 2006 GP2 title with the Frenchman’s ART Grand Prix team, as the pair now ready to re-unite on the grand stage of Formula 1.

And as well as his status of F1’s only active seven-time champion – that vouching for the performances Hamilton can deliver at Ferrari – Vasseur also places great value in the belief that Hamilton can bring a “different vision” to the Ferrari team which is chasing a first taste of title glory since 2008.

“What he will bring is that he is the only seven-time champion on the grid today, that he will come with not only the speed into the car and the technical approach, but he will bring also a different vision of the team,” Vasseur told Sky F1 when asked what Hamilton brings to Ferrari that they do not already have.

“But it’s important for me to have a kind of mix of future and he will come with this experience and for sure it’s an added value.”

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Lewis Hamilton arrival means it is sink or swim time for Charles Leclerc

Hamilton will partner Charles Leclerc at Ferrari from 2025, meaning Carlos Sainz is on the lookout for a new place on the grid to call home.

And Sainz’s drive to the podium at the Bahrain season-opener suggested there is zero issue with motivation for the two-time Grand Prix winner, Vasseur making it clear he has “huge respect” for Sainz and that they are aligned on the goal to push until the end of their alliance.

Asked how Sainz took the Hamilton news, Vasseur replied: “For sure it’s not an easy call as you can imagine.

“But I would say good that the first reaction was, ‘Okay, we push until the last corner of the last lap of the last race’. And I told him the same, I said, ‘Okay, now we are on the same boat for 2024, let’s be focused on this one, it’s a huge challenge, a long season and let’s push together’.

“I have a huge respect for Carlos, for what he did for us so far and mainly last year for me that he was able to be the leader of the team at one stage in the season, at Monza and Singapore.

“He was a huge part of this recovery and we have a good relationship and we keep the good relationship with Carlos.”

Sainz is hoping to return to action for Round 3 in Australia, having missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to appendicitis. He underwent successful surgery on the Friday morning and was back in the Ferrari garage to watch on come Grand Prix Saturday.

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