Ferrari Formula 1 boss Fred Vasseur says calling Carlos Sainz to inform him that he would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton for 2025 was “one of the most difficult” conversations.
Shortly after Charles Leclerc signed a multi-year extension, the F1 world was rocked by the announcement that Hamilton will leave Mercedes to join Ferrari next year.
That leaves Sainz needing to find a race seat elsewhere and Ferrari has given up a proven race-winner in the Spaniard for a chance at employing a seven-time champion.
Vasseur admitted that it was tough to make the call informing Sainz about the decision, but says that all parties remain unified heading into the 2024 campaign.
“As you can imagine, it was not the easiest call of my life,” Vasseur told selected media including Motorsport Week on Tuesday following the launch of the SF-24.
“One of the most difficult, with the one with Toto [Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal]!
“I’m fully convinced he’s a very professional driver, that he understands that we have a long season in front of us, it’s a huge opportunity, and I think it’s also a dream to be in this situation, to have the team behind him.
“I think we had a long discussion as you can imagine, but I will be fully supportive of Carlos, he is fully committed, and we know that we have to do the job together, we are together, we are professional.”
Ferrari will debatably possess the strongest line-up on the grid in 2025, coupling the raw speed ability of Leclerc alongside the sport’s record win holder in Hamilton.
Although Sainz landed the only non-Red Bull win of 2023 in Singapore, Vassuer argued that the chance to prize Hamilton away from Mercedes is “huge” for his team.
“The opportunity of Lewis is something that you have to consider in any case,” he conceded. “He’s the guy with the biggest experience, and it’s a huge opportunity for us, it’s nothing to do with Carlos.
“Carlos did a great job last year, I’m sure he well do a great job next year, he’s very professional, we have a very good personal relationship but it is like it is and we have to be focused on the future.”
Vassuer and Hamilton have a relationship that goes back decades, with the Briton clinching the GP2 championship in 2006 with the Frenchman’s ART Grand Prix squad.
The current Ferrari Team Principal has explained how maintaining talks ever since helped discussions about teaming up at the Italian marque occur more naturally.
“You know that we have had a good relationship for more than 20 years now,” he said.
“We were always in contact to speak about different things and I think it came up naturally.
“I don’t know what was this easy or what was not, but it came like this, step-by-step.”
The Hamilton announcement came on February 1 – 12 days prior to the launch of the SF-24 – and Vasseur said that this was a deliberate decision to allow the news to be digested in good time before the focus was wholly switched on the 2024 campaign.
“We are sure that he [Hamilton] will bring us a decent step for the future and it will be a good challenge for everybody, but we want to be focused on 2024 and we don’t want to have any kind of distraction,” he expressed.
“It’s also why we made the announcement so early, because it was important for us to be focused on 2024 for all of the season.
“I am fully convinced that Carlos will be fully dedicated and fully committed until the last lap and the last corner of the season.
“And equally I am sure that all of the team will be fully motivated and fully behind Carlos who did a great job for us so far.
“Now it’s important for us to be focused on 2024. We have a good opportunity, we worked so hard on the project that I don’t want to have any kind of distraction.”
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