Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has insisted he has “no doubt” Lewis Hamilton will perform soon” amid a sluggish opening to his debut Formula 1 weekend with the team.
Hamilton admitted in the build-up to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that he is being realistic about his prospects as he navigates a “transition period” at Ferrari.
The Briton is among 10 drivers who have started with a new team in 2025, but – unlike his rivals – he didn’t participate in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi in December.
However, Ferrari compensated with several outings in previous-spec cars during pre-season to allow him to get accustomed to its processes in the garage and the cockpit.
Vasseur explained that this was essential to accelerating Hamilton’s acclimatisation, though he acknowledged that it was incomparable to a complete race weekend.
“It’s not [the goal] to be at the limit on one session, it’s not a matter of speed,” Vasseur told media including Motorsport Week prior to Hamilton improving to fifth in FP2.
“The target is for him to know everybody in the team, to discover the software, the process, the system.
“I’m convinced that we have something very similar to Mercedes, but at the end of the day, perhaps not with the same name, or the same way to use them.
“It’s just a learning process. We did one or two test days with the TPC one or two months ago. It was a good way to approach it, but nothing compares to the race weekend.
“We have to go through and we have to do it, but I’m not worried at all about this.”
Ferrari has ‘no doubt’ Hamilton will get up to speed
Hamilton’s inaugural competitive session with Ferrari saw him languish 12th overall at the Albert Park Circuit, six tenths behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in third place.
But although the seven-time F1 champion reported that he couldn’t turn the SF-25 late in FP1, Vasseur denied that he was concerned about the seven-time F1 champion.
“He’s on this process, honestly, you can’t draw a conclusion after a first session,” he said. “I have absolutely no doubt that he will be able to perform and to perform soon.
“Last year I think that Carlos [Sainz] was P8 or P9 in free practice and he won the race.”
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