Lewis Hamilton's boss admits underestimating Ferrari psychological damage

Lewis Hamilton’s F1 boss and Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has pinpointed the key decision this year that has caused ‘psychological’ damage at the team.

Ferrari have finished fourth place finish in the constructors’ championship at the end of 2025, their lowest finish since the 2020 season where they fell down to sixth in the standings.

Speaking to the media before Friday’s sprint qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix, Vasseur shed light on Ferrari’s development and claimed they switched their focus to the 2026 season as early as the end of April.

However, the Frenchman has labelled the decision as a ‘tough call’ and he underestimated the impact it would have on the team ‘psychologically’.

"Quite early in the season, McLaren was so dominating in the first four or five events that we realised it would be very difficult for 2025," Vasseur said.

"It meant that we decided very early in the season, I think it was the end of April, to switch (the development focus) to '26. It was a tough call.

"Perhaps I also underestimated a little bit the call on the psychological side, because when you still have 20 races to go, or 18 races to go, and you know that you won’t bring any aero development, it's quite tough to manage psychologically.

"But overall, we continue to push. We brought some mechanical upgrades, we are trying to do a better job on operation, and this is the DNA of our sport. But we have to accept this. I'm still confident with the call we made, and it's okay - now let's fight for P2 with these conditions."

Ferrari a team in crisis?

Ferrari’s decision to halt the development of their 2025 car has undoubtedly hurt their two drivers Hamilton and Leclerc, with both looking likely to finish the season without a single win - and without a podium for the seven-time world champion.

Despite Hamilton and Leclerc’s frequent lamentations in the media, Vasseur confirmed that they were both involved with the decision to abandon the 2025 season in favour of 2026, when new regulations will sweep into the sport and promises a shake-up to the order.

"This decision was shared by everybody in the team," Vasseur added.

"For sure, the drivers were part of this decision, because they are fully committed to the project. It's something that we have to share all together, that in this kind of situation you have to act as a team and it's what we did at this stage of the season.”

Time will only tell if this sacrifice will be worth it, but Hamilton has an even larger problem to contend with than just his Ferrari being undrivable.

Leclerc has confidently outpaced the 40-year-old in 2025 as Hamilton has struggled to adjust at his new team, a trend - if continued into 2026 - that could hamper the seven-time world champion’s quest for an eighth world title at Ferrari.

READ MORE: Hamilton suffers worst EVER F1 result for Ferrari

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