Lewis Hamilton has given his thoughts on the announcement that Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has signed a multi-year extension to his contract with the Formula 1 team.
The Frenchman was confirmed to be lengthening his stay in Maranello, after a notable period of media speculation which suggested he was close to facing the axe.
Both Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc have previously lent their backing to Vasseur, who was the Briton’s boss at ART Grand Prix when he won the GP2 title in 2006.
Hamilton reiterated his support for Vasseur amid the announcement ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, revealing that he received knowledge of the news on Wednesday.
“I mean, I only heard yesterday about it,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “And you’ve heard my positive comments about Fred, so… I told everyone that.
“There’s nothing else to add. I told you before that it was the right choice. Fred signed me here.”
Vasseur is ‘creating freedom’ for Hamilton to be himself
Vasseur’s pulling power was evident, given his ability to convince Hamilton to depart Mercedes, where he enjoyed the most successful driver-team partnership in F1 history.
When asked if he sees a similarity between Vasseur and his previous boss and friend, Toto Wolff, Hamilton divulged that the approaches of the two men are opposites.
“No, completely different,” he answered. “But in terms of the race, the characters, they’re both massive racers, so that’s what they have in common.”
However, the similarities lie within both men’s willingness to allow Hamilton to be an authentic version of himself, and revealed he is still getting used to his working methods, given the pair’s previous union was nearly two decades ago.
“All I can say, just from my previous experience, is I remember the real positive when I was working with Toto, was just how he was able to utilise individuals, figure out how people work best, how to get the most out of someone,” he added.
“For example, with me, he created freedom for me to be able to express myself the way I wanted to, and that enabled me to be the best version of myself, and that’s what he does, he would do there.
“I think Fred is very similar in that respect, and I’m still trying to learn the way that Fred likes to work, but I have absolute confidence in Fred, as I’ve always said.”
READ MORE – Ferrari hands F1 boss Fred Vasseur new multi-year deal
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