Fred Vasseur warns of ‘naive’ Lewis Hamilton expectations

Ferrari F1 boss Fred Vasseur has warned of ‘naive’ expectations some may harbour regarding Lewis Hamilton's impact on the Italian team.

The seven-time champion's move to the Scuderia was a blockbuster signing by Vasseur and his squad, with Hamilton shocking the paddock and his former team Mercedes when he announced his departure in 2024.

With a whole year to get used to the idea of Hamilton in red, it is no surprise that fans and pundits alike had built up an unfair expectation of what they expected the partnership to look like.

Multiple race wins, a fierce battle between team-mates and a fight for the championship? Not quite.

Instead, the highlight of the 40-year-old's so far short career with Ferrari has been his one and only race win in the Chinese GP sprint, but he has showed signs of improvement.

Hamilton not the solution to Ferrari F1 problems

After appearing dejected prior to the F1 summer break, Hamilton rounded off the European stint in the calendar with his first race at Monza in front of the tifosi, and their support appears to have lifted his spirits.

Alongside this, both Hamilton and his team-mate Charles Leclerc have been consistently positive about their feelings towards the new regulations in 2026, with a fresh start the perfect chance for Ferrari to make a comeback.

But after 17 seasons without a championship victory of any kind, Vasseur is aware that Hamilton alone is not the answer to Ferraris woes in the sport.

Speaking to German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Vasseur discussed how close Ferrari are to becoming his 'ideal' version of the team, explaining that he will never feel as if his work at the Scuderia is complete.

"If I ever believed we had reached our goal, that would be the beginning of the end," the Frenchman declared.

"McLaren is doing a fantastic job. But it's not as if they have some secret weapon that gives them three tenths. It's more like ten areas that each give them 20 milliseconds.

Vasseur then touched on the claims that Hamilton has delivered an underwhelming first season in red, concluding: "We have to maintain our approach of improving in all disciplines. It would be naive to believe that any one person could suddenly work a miracle for us. There's no magic formula. We're on the right track."

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