Frederic Vasseur cools Lewis Hamilton title hype a...

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur reckons it was too early to tout Lewis Hamilton as a Formulation 1 title contender for 2025 following his victory within the Chinese language Grand Prix dash race.

The seven-time world champion gained the Saturday race from pole in March on what was solely his second aggressive look for Ferrari. 

However he has since struggled, being disqualified from the grand prix in Shanghai for a technical infringement earlier than solely ending seventh in Japan and fifth in Bahrain final weekend. 

Vasseur was requested if there was something the workforce may do to assist Hamilton rise up to hurry along with his new squad, having joined from Mercedes over the winter.

He stated forward of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP: “Lewis is coming along with his personal expertise, with 20 years of F1 with totally different groups, with virtually 10 years at McLaren, 12 years at Mercedes, and it is at all times good to have somebody becoming a member of the workforce with this type of expertise, with this type of imaginative and prescient, and to assist us to enhance.

“It would not matter if it is Lewis, Charles [Leclerc, his team-mate] or Carlos [Sainz, who Hamilton replaced] final yr, we’re at all times making an attempt to do the most effective for the drivers and to discover a good steadiness for the automotive for him and we’re pushing on each automobiles precisely in the identical approach.

“I feel you [media] have been all a bit enthusiastic on the Saturday night in China, talking concerning the [FIA end of season] prize-giving ceremony and so now we have to settle down a bit bit.

“Now we have a brand new automotive, it isn’t the carry-over of the automotive of final yr and doubtless that we’re struggling a bit extra to seek out the best steadiness and the best set-up.

“However that is the life of each single workforce on the grid, you recognize that typically for a matter of 1 tenth you’ll be able to really feel that the steadiness isn’t a very good one in any respect or not that unhealthy.

“The very constructive level is that we’re working as a workforce, that the 2 drivers are pushing in the identical path.”

Vasseur was additionally requested if he felt Ferrari had all of the elements to achieve success and he identified that the competitiveness of the grid is making his life harder.

He added: “The elements are all there, however now it is like cooking. It’s a must to put the elements collectively on the proper stage.

“Actually, I haven’t got the sensation that we anticipate the most effective from the automotive up to now, however I’d say that it is true for us, nevertheless it’s true additionally for the others.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Pictures

“Even [championship leaders] McLaren, with the step that they’ve in comparison with the remainder of the grid, typically you’ve gotten one of many automobiles which is struggling a bit extra.

“A few years in the past, you have been in a position to go to Q1 with a set of medium tyres and you probably did one lap and also you have been in Q2. At the moment, even the highest groups, now we have to place a while on a set of softs.

“It signifies that the sphere may be very, very tight, and every time that you simply make a mistake, you’ll be able to lose 5, six positions. Then, the conclusion from the skin is that it is a drama.

“We’re extra targeted on pure efficiency, it signifies that we have to keep calm and do the evaluation if we need to enhance.

“It was one of many abilities of the workforce final yr to have the ability to capitalise and I hope that we’ll have the identical tempo this yr.” 

Pictures from Saudi Arabian GP – Observe