Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur said the Scuderia will find its own way of working with ex-Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.
The world is weeks away from Hamilton’s first year as a Ferrari driver.
2024 has had the seven-time world champion’s switch to the Italian Giants from long-time collaborators Mercedes looming over it for the entire season – thanks to the news breaking before a wheel was turned.
After 12 seasons at the Silver Arrows whereby Hamilton embedded himself into a tight-knit team, Vasseur is keen for Ferrari to forge its own path with the Briton.
“It would be wrong for us to copy the Mercedes situation and just paint everything red,” Vasseur said (via Auto Motor und Sport).
“We have to find our own way with Lewis.”
When Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari, many thought that he’d try and poach as many staff from Mercedes to follow him to Maranello as possible, especially long-serving Race Engineer Peter Bennington.
However, Bonnington chose to stay with the Brackley-based outfit, choosing promotion from Race Engineer to Head of Race Engineering at Mercedes over departing to Italy.
Still, Hamilton will have familiar faces in Maranello in the form of Jerome d’Ambrosio and Loic Serra.
D’Ambrosio has recently taken on the role of Deputy Team Principal at Ferrari following two seasons with Mercedes working alongside Toto Wolff.
Serra, meanwhile, left his role as Performance Director to join Ferrari in October as Technical Director Chassis.
Vasseur has been in constant contact with Hamilton for 20 years
Hamilton and Vasseur enjoy a relationship that spans several decades.
The British driver raced for the Frenchman’s ASM team in the 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series and his ART Grand Prix outfit in the 2006 GP2 Championship.
2025 means that the duo can reunite on motorsport’s biggest stage, but in the year proceeding, Vasseur admitted that out of respect for Mercedes, technical conversations were off the table.
“We have been in constant contact since [2006],” Vasseur said.
“However, in consideration of Mercedes, we had agreed for the past season that we would not discuss technical matters.”
Hamilton’s debut in a red Ferrari F1 machine will have to wait until January running at Fiorano such was the bond he enjoyed with Mercedes.
Under contract through the end of December, Hamilton embarked on a Mercedes farewell tour across Malaysia, Germany and the United Kingdom in the week after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
However, according to reports, Hamilton has already visited Maranello in private to get acquainted with his new team.
READ MORE – Ferrari reveals date for Lewis Hamilton debut F1 outing
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