Formula 1 Saudi Arabian GP
Lewis Hamilton "also has to do a step" in Ferrari car development, says team chief
Lewis Hamilton says he's beginning to understand his new Ferrari, with team boss Fred Vasseur adding that both driver and team must adapt to each other.
Alex Harrington
Published: Apr 16, 2025, 10:52 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Mason - Getty Images
Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton confirmed that he was getting closer to understanding his new Ferrari machinery after 12 seasons at Mercedes. Team principal Fred Vasseur has now added to this, admitting that his seven-time world champion also needs to adjust his approach.
Moving to Ferrari was never going to be a cake walk for the driver, with this season pegged to be one of adaptation for both Hamilton and the team.
"You won't replace 12 years of collaboration in two weeks or in two races," he told he media. "That means that for sure we need to improve, but I think this is true for everybody in the team, in the paddock, that we have the DNA for our sport is to try to do a better job and I think it's good to have Lewis with this mindset to say, 'OK, I have to improve also myself and to adapt myself to the car.'"
The Ferrari boss continued: "We will work on the car to adapt the car to Lewis, but he also has to do a step. And I think this, between us, is done in a positive way and a very constructive way."
This came after a difficult qualifying for the Briton on the Saturday of his Bahrain campaign, where he qualified ninth. Come the race, however, he was able to improve his pace, finishing the Grand Prix in fifth directly behind his teammate.
"I appreciated the direction of Lewis on Saturday and I did my best to push him a little bit, and on Sunday he was in very good shape," Vasseur added.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Andrea Diodato - NurPhoto - Getty Images
The Frenchman has been able to manage the expectations around his driver so far this season.
“We have to stay calm in terms of judgement of the performance because sometimes for almost nothing you can change a good weekend to a very poor one, and visa versa."
The Bahrain Grand Prix saw Hamilton take a step forward in his understanding of the SF-25.
"The middle stint, I felt really aligned with the car. My driving style seemed to be working in that moment," he said following the race. “And so learned a lot today, and this weekend, actually. A lot. Probably more than all the other weekends.
“The key is to try and get back to it every weekend. It’s clear our car really does require a different driving style, and I think I’m slowly adjusting to that.
“And also set-up, I’ve been a bit all over the place, a long way from Charles the past two weekends, and then slowly migrated towards him.
“So I think, if I start the weekend with a more convenient spot, and apply the techniques that I learned this weekend, hopefully we’ll be in a good place.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Esteban Ocon: Jeddah "going to be a challenge for all of us"
Next article Alex Albon's complaints about Ollie Bearman revealed after Bahrain Grand Prix
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Alex Harrington
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Fans can't get enough of Max Verstappen's floral race boots after Singapore win
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Fans can't get enough of Max Verstappen's floral race boots after Singapore win
Lando Norris casts doubt on Singapore GP sprint excitement: "I don't think it is"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lando Norris casts doubt on Singapore GP sprint excitement: "I don't think it is"
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
More from
Ferrari
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Latest news
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
4 h
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
9 h
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 9 h
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
9 h
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe