Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has admitted he and Lewis Hamilton underestimated how difficult finding success during the Brit’s first year with the Prancing Horse would be.
Hamilton, 40, has often cut a frustrated figure since leaving Mercedes – where he won six of his seven Drivers’ Championships – earlier this year.
He’s struggled to emulate the form he showed at the Silver Arrows since joining his new team however, even failing to notch a single podium with a best finish of fourth place on three occasions.
Vasseur, Hamilton’s new chief principal, has now speculated as to why the pair’s working relationship is yet to flourish.
‘Lewis and I, we collectively probably underestimated the change of environment and the fact that he spent for me 20 years in the same team,’ he told The Race.
‘McLaren and Mercedes, and then he moved to Mercedes, an English team, same engine guys, that same culture and so on.
Lewis Hamilton has endured a frustrating season since moving to Ferrari from Mercedes
His new team principal Fred Vasseur has admitted he and the driver ‘underestimated’ how difficult their first season together would be
‘So he spent 2006 to 2024, 18 years, in that same environment and then he arrived at Ferrari, and we were stupidly expecting that he will have everything under control.
‘He’s not the guy who changed team every two years.
‘Culturally speaking, there is a bigger difference between Ferrari and Mercedes than between Mercedes and McLaren. And this we underestimated.’
Hamilton’s struggles on the circuit have often resulted in him venting his frustrations to the media post-race, the most recent example of which occurred in Hungary.
After qualifying just 12th on the grid, the legendary driver described his performance as ‘useless’, even claiming that Ferrari should look for a new driver.
Such outbursts were criticised by Vasseur in an interview earlier this week.
He told German publication Auto Motor und Sport: ‘Stay calm.
‘Build on the fact that he has already taken the first step. Don’t let things like what happened in Budapest get you down.
Hamilton described his performance during qualifying in Hungary as ‘useless’
‘Lewis is very self-critical. He is always extreme in his reactions. Sometimes he is too hard on the car, sometimes on himself. He wants to get the most out of himself and everyone in the team.
‘You have to calm him down and explain to him that in Q2 [in Hungary] he was only a tenth of a second behind the driver [Leclerc] who later took pole position. That’s no big deal.
‘The message he sends out only makes things worse.
‘Most of the time, he’s only that extreme with the press. By the time he comes into the briefing room, he’s usually calmed down again. That’s just his way.’
The Formula One season is currently in the middle of a summer break – with Hamilton sitting a lowly sixth place in the race for the title and a whopping 175 points behind Oscar Piastri.
The F1 season returns with the Dutch Grand Prix – with race day on August 31 as Piastri looks to extend his advantage at the top of the standings over McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.