Ferrari F1 boss issues X-RATED Lewis Hamilton response following Saudi GP performance

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari boss issues X-RATED Hamilton response following Saudi GP performance

Hamilton has underperformed in his early days at the team

Chris Deeley

Tuesday 22 April 2025 09:11

Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur has hit back strongly at criticism of Lewis Hamilton's form, launching into an X-rated defence of his newest driver.

Hamilton has struggled out of the gate at Ferrari after his shock move from Mercedes, recording a best grand prix finish of fifth in Bahrain and finishing behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in every main race this season.

The seven-time world champion has been visibly frustrated with his own form and his car, with Ferrari failing so far to deliver on the performance hinted at by their narrow second place finish in last season's constructors' title fight.

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The team finished just 11 points behind McLaren last year as they pushed the papaya team to the limit, but have already fallen 110 points behind after just five races in 2025, languishing in fourth place.

Vasseur: Hamilton talk is f bt

Asked by media after the Saudi Arabian GP about Hamilton's 'dramatic' loss of form, Vasseur hit back: "It's not dramatically. We did five races so far. I know that you want to have the big headlines tomorrow that 'Fred said this'. But this is f****** b******t. At the end of the day, we are in competition. You have ups and downs.

"When we have up, we are not world champions. When we have down, we are not nowhere. It's just a competition.

"I'm not sure that you draw the same conclusion with Max last week when he was seventh. It is like it is. The competition is tight.

"You have 10 cars and a couple of tenths. Have a look at Max. He won in Japan. He finished 30 seconds behind Piastri in Bahrain, and in Saudi Arabia he was P2 and had pole position."

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Lewis Hamilton Mercedes McLaren Charles Leclerc Fred Vasseur