Lewis Hamilton issued a special thank you to Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur for tolerating his “relentless” search for improvements, after taking a maiden Formula 1 win for the Italian giants.
Hamilton utilised a perfect strategy and a Virtual Safety Car to take a commanding first win in red at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, to cement second place in the Drivers’ Championship.
Such a feat would have been scarcely thinkable a year ago, as Hamilton looked disconsolate and aimlessly looking for ways to better what was a difficult SF-25 car to drive.
Amid the seven-time champion’s own struggles, Vasseur was also juggling speculation that his job was on the line at the Maranello-based squad.
And Hamilton was keen to praise his Team Principal – who was also in the same role during Hamilton’s title-winning GP2 campaign in 2006 – for withstanding his demands and requests.
“Well firstly, I wouldn’t be in this team without Fred,” he told media, including Motorsport Week, after his win. “Fred is the one that made it happen, and of which I’m incredibly grateful to him for.”
Lewis Hamilton thankful to ‘great ally’ Vasseur for allowing Ferrari changes
Hamilton was signed to proven race-winner Carlos Sainz on a lucrative multi-year deal, the announcement coming a year ahead of the move, heralding months of fanfare leading to the eventual union taking place.
The 41-year-old was quick to acknowledge that his incessant striving for change must not have been easy for the Frenchman, but “continued to believe” in him.
“I think last year was really, really, really tough for him to deal with me coming, [it] was a big shock to the system,” Hamilton continued. “Because I am very, very vocal – if I see something that I don’t think is right,
“I push very, very hard, that’s like at the core of who I am and I’m relentless with it. And I think it’s it’s not easy to be on the receiving end of that.
“When you’re also juggling a whole organisation, you know, and a culture that’s in its own is set in a certain way, and also, he’s French in Italian culture – it was a lot for him to juggle and I think very, very tough, because obviously he would do media as well but he continued to believe, continue to be a good friend, continue to to be a great teammate and an ally and really supportive and ultimately, really listened at the end.
“[I] had to really ask – really, really ask – for some of the changes, and he enabled them to happen, which I’m forever grateful for, because then wouldn’t have happened without those changes.
“So, big, big thank you to him.”
Hamilton will be looking for another win and a fourth straight trip to the podium in the Styrian mountains next week, as F1 returns to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix.
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