‘He has my full support’ – Hamilton backs Vasseur as the man to lead Ferrari ‘to the top’

Lewis Hamilton has given his backing to Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur amid speculation over the Frenchman’s future at the squad, with Hamilton stating that Vasseur is “the person to take us to the top”.

The Scuderia have endured some ups and downs so far in 2025 as Hamilton continues to adapt to the outfit following his switch from Mercedes, while Charles Leclerc has also faced some tough outings though arrives into the Canadian Grand Prix weekend off the back of two podium finishes.

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Speaking during Thursday’s media day in Montreal, Hamilton was quizzed on reports about Vasseur’s position at the team, leading the seven-time World Champion to reiterate that, while things may not always be completely smooth for the squad behind the scenes, he fully supports Vasseur.

“It’s definitely not nice to hear that there’s stories like that out there,” Hamilton responded. “Firstly I love working with Fred – Fred’s the main reason I’m in this team and got the opportunity to be here, for which I’m forever grateful for, and we’re in this together.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 23: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari and Frederic — Hamilton has voiced his support for Vasseur, who he has credited as being the «main reason» he is now at Ferrari

“We’re working hard in the background, things aren’t perfect but, for me, I’m here to work with the team but also with Fred – I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top, so that’s that. So it’s all nonsense.

“Most people don’t know what’s going on in the background. It isn’t all easy, it’s not like it’s all the smoothest sailing in the background – we are having to make changes and there is a lot of work to do, and there is naturally a lot of pressure because we want to win, but that’s not any part of the discussion at moment.”

Pushed further on whether he feels it would be a mistake for Ferrari to make changes at the top, Hamilton added: “I don’t think that’s on the cards as far as I’m aware and that’s certainly not something I would be supportive of.

“Embedding new people, new personnel, whether it’s a driver or engineer or people who run an organisation, it takes time to adjust and the impact that has is significant, so that’s not part of the discussion. I’m here to win with Fred and he has my full support.”

Hamilton also stressed his own focus on continuing to build his future with the Italian team as he continued: “I’ve literally just started here with Ferrari and I’m here for several years, and I’m here for the long-haul, so there is no question in where my head’s at and what I’m working towards achieving with this team, so there’s zero doubts.”

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For now the Briton is looking ahead to the weekend at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, one in which he will be hoping for a smoother outing after a tough race last time out in Spain.

However, Hamilton admitted that it came as something of a relief to learn that an issue had been discovered on both his and Leclerc’s cars later on, offering an explanation for the challenges he faced.

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Pushed on how much the problem had been affecting him during the Grand Prix, the 40-year-old answered: “Massively. Unfortunately the team don’t want us to talk too much about it, but we both had issues that were hindering us massively from halfway through race already.

“What I didn’t know is whether or not we had that problem, but obviously I said on the radio that it was the worst feeling in the car I’ve ever had, and it truly was with that issue. At the end of the race, I was kind of like, ‘Jeez, I’ve never experienced something this bad for such a prolonged time through a race’.

“It wasn’t until after the TV interviews I got back to the engineers and we found out there was an issue, so it was a bit of a relief to hear that because it definitely didn’t feel so terrible afterwards.”