When Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari for the 2025 F1 season, the detractors leaped into action to claim the seven-time World Champion was no longer any good behind the wheel.
Many of those same voices have used Ferrari’s challenging start to the year as an opportunity to claim that they are correct, and that Hamilton isn’t what he used to be. But team principal Fred Vasseur isn’t having any of it.
Fred Vasseur challenges Lewis Hamilton ‘worn out’ claim
After the first two Grands Prix of the F1 2025 season, Lewis Hamilton sits ninth in the championship, having scored just nine points — all of them in the sprint race preceding the Chinese Grand Prix, which he led from pole position.
The season opener in Australia was a unique challenge, as wet weather conditions threw a monkey wrench into the pecking order, and as Hamilton and race engineer Riccardo Adami came to grips with the expectations of one another’s communication styles. And the Chinese Grand Prix ended in a disqualification for both Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton’s move was greeted with dismissal from a certain segment of people who believe the former champion’s greatest days are behind him.
Some argued that Hamilton is looking unable to adapt to a new team environment, while others have claimed that Ferrari was foolish thinking an older driver could provide a fresh injection of life.
But not everyone agrees.
In an interview with l’Équipe, Fred Vasseur was asked, “Since his arrival in Maranello, Hamilton seems transformed, more human or delivery his feelings, as when on Saturday he admits having been affected by criticisms he received.”
Vasseur, however, cut the question short.
“I don’t know anything about that,” he said, “but acknowledge that certain criticisms have been…” Here, he paused, before continuing, “very harsh.
“Thinking that Hamilton is worn out, expired, is harsh. And moreover, it’s false.
“Look at his race last year, he starts sixteenth and finishes fourth by overtaking his teammate.”
Though the start of the 2025 season hasn’t been a walk in the park for either Hamilton or Ferrari, both parties have demonstrated a commitment to one another that, at the very least, seems to imply a fruitful working environment.
The results may not be there just yet, but the desire to grow with one another bodes well for the future.
