Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has dismissed that 2025 could be considered a “transitional” Formula 1 season for Lewis Hamilton amid his initial struggles with the team.
Hamilton has endured an unsettled opening to his long-awaited Ferrari spell as he has encountered complications adapting to the team’s inconsistent SF-25 machine.
The Briton has trailed behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in all five races to date, including last weekend in Saudi Arabia when he ended more than 30 seconds behind.
That crushing loss prompted a despondent Hamilton to contend that he is primed to experience a “painful” campaign, the last one with the current ground effect cars.
But while the new ruleset could provide Hamilton with a much-needed reset, Vasseur has denied that his new recruit will need to wait until then to rediscover his form.
“It’s not a transitional time, but for sure he’s down because when you finish the race in sixth [sic] your team-mate is on the podium,” Vasseur said.
“Honestly, I take it as positive that Lewis is down because if he was happy with this, it wouldn’t be normal.
“He’s a racer, he’s a competitor, he wants to get the best from what he has and for sure he’s disappointed.
“Now we have to work together to react together, and it will be the only way to move forward.”
Ferrari’s unwavering faith in Hamilton
Hamilton appeared to have banished the woes that dominated his last season with Mercedes in 2024 when he won on his second Ferrari outing in the Sprint in China.
But despite his results waning since, Vasseur has insisted the onus is on Ferrari to equip the seven-time F1 champion with the tools to replicate his Shanghai exploits.
“I will be 2000 per cent behind him,” the Frenchman added.
“I will give him support and we will start from tomorrow morning to try to find solutions and reasons and to work on it early in the morning.
“But honestly, I am not too worried.
“If you have a look on what he did in China or what he did in the race in Bahrain last week or even on the first part of the session in this weekend, the potential is there for sure.
“We just have to adjust the balance because we are, collectively, Lewis and us, we are struggling with the balance of his car and [how] he is working the tyres.
“It’s a kind of negative spot but I think the potential of the car is there and we will try to solve that.”
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