Vasseur: 'Demanding' Hamilton 'harsh' with Ferrari criticism

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has suggested that his 'demanding' seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is being 'harsh' on himself.

Hamilton described his performance during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying last weekend as 'useless', and suggested that his new team should consider sacking him, more than a year away from the end of his contract.

The 40-year-old joined Ferrari in January, but has failed to claim a single grand prix podium finish, while his team-mate Charles Leclerc has picked up five while driving the same car.

Hamilton's incredibly downbeat interviews have become a fixture of recent race weekends, as he struggles to make any kind of impression with the Maranello-based outfit.

Now, his boss Vasseur who has recently been handed a contract extension, has said that Hamilton's struggles are not down to a lack of motivation, and that the Brit clearly has the drive to get back to his previous form which has seen him become the most successful driver in F1 history.

"I don't need to motivate him, honestly," Vasseur told F1 media following the Hungarian GP. "He's frustrated but not demotivated, it's a completely different story.

"Again, I can perfectly understand the situation and you can, sometimes you are making comments on what the driver is saying to the car, but if you put the microphone on some other sportsman in football and so on, I'm not sure that it would be much better.

"Sometimes they are making comments, even when they jump out of the car. I can understand the frustration, but we are all frustrated and sometimes if you ask me, I can't say this, I will go to the stewards.

"But sometimes just after the race, or just after the quali, you are very disappointed and the reaction, the first reaction is harsh, but we all know that we are pushing in the same direction."

Vasseur continued: "Yes, he's demanding, but I think it's also why he is seven-time world champion, that he is demanding with the team, with the car, with the engineers, with the mechanics, with myself also, but first of all he is very demanding with himself."

Hope for Hamilton?

While the Hungarian GP weekend highlighted the biggest gap in performance between Hamilton and Leclerc yet, the fact that the Monegasque driver proved that the SF-25 is capable of beating the McLarens to pole position is surely a source of encouragement for Hamilton.

Leclerc also managed to finish fourth in Hungary to extend his lead over Hamilton in the drivers' championship to 42 points, and the rest of 2025 will all be about trying to rebuild the seven-time champion's confidence.

2026 is a huge year for Ferrari with new regulations sweeping into the sport, and it will also be the last year of Hamilton's current contract, meaning he will need to prove that he has still got what it takes to be racing full-time in F1.

On the other hand, 2026 may also be a chance to reset for the 40-year-old, with wholesale regulation changes meaning that he will be driving a completely different car design. The current iteration of F1 cars have not suited Hamilton - he has only won two races since regulations changed in 2022 - but 2026 could see a return to a car design more suited to his talents.

READ MORE: F1 world champions: Full list from Farina to four-time King Verstappen

READ MORE: F1 driver salaries: What stars including Hamilton and Verstappen earn

F1 HEADLINES: Ferrari fury as 'secret' Lewis Hamilton clauses emerge

READ MORE: New Red Bull F1 team principal in Max Verstappen disagreement

NEWSLETTER: F1's summer break shopping list - Part 1

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton's 'secret Ferrari clauses' revealed

Related

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton's 'secret Ferrari clauses' revealed

• Yesterday 17:57

Latest F1 News

Ex-Ferrari star FINALLY joins F1 rivals as official switch complete

• Yesterday 13:27