Hamilton backs Vasseur amid ‘nonsense’ reports of potential firing

Lewis Hamilton says Fred Vasseur is the reason he is at Ferrari and labeled reports that the team principal could be replaced as “nonsense” ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Two of Italy’s prominent sports newspapers – La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere della Sera – called into question Vasseur’s future on Thursday, with the former claiming the next three races will be crucial to his position. Ferrari said the reports were not even worth commenting on, but Hamilton himself gave the team principal his full backing.

“I was just made aware of this just before I got here, so I’ve not read the stories,” Hamilton said. “It’s definitely not nice to hear that there are stories like that that are out there.

“Firstly, I love working with Fred. Fred is the main reason I’m in this team, and got the opportunity to be here, which I’m forever grateful for. And we’re in this together. We’re working hard in the background. Things aren’t perfect. But for me, as I said, I’m here to work with the team but also with Fred. I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top. So that’s that.

“Ultimately, it’s nonsense what people have written. Most people don’t know what’s going on in the background. And it isn’t all easy – it’s not like it’s all the smoothest sailing in the background. We are having to make changes and it’s a lot of work to do, and there is naturally a lot of pressure, because we want to win. But that’s not any part of the discussion at the moment.”

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Hamilton took the opportunity to not only defend Vasseur, but also dismiss any reports that he is already considering his future at Ferrari after a tough start to life at his new team.

“Again, I don’t think that’s on the cards, as far as I’m aware. That’s certainly not something that I would be supportive of. I mean, embedding new people, new personnel, whether that’s a driver or whether that’s engineers or people who run an organization, it takes time to adjust, and the impact that has is significant.

“That’s not part of the discussion. I’m here to win with Fred, and he has my full support.

“And then also to everyone that’s writing stories of me considering not racing: I mean, I’ve literally only just started with Ferrari, and I’m here for several years. I’m here for the long haul. So there is no question in where my head’s at and what I’m working towards achieving at this team. So, there’s zero doubts, so please stop… making up… stuff.”

The Corriere della Serra report also claimed Charles Leclerc had lost confidence in the team and could leave, but he too rejected that notion.

“I'm very surprised,” Leclerc said. “I have no idea from where it's coming from. So I'd rather just ignore it. But I've never said anything of this in the last few races. If anything, I keep saying how much I love the team and how much I want to bring back Ferrari to the top. So yeah, I was just surprised.

“We surely have a vision that we share, us three – Fred, Lewis and myself – in order to try and get back to winning. AWe've been working to put that all together and so, this is for sure our plan and I think we should stick to it.”

The Ferrari pair weren't the only drivers backing Vasseur, with the man he replaced – Carlos Sainz – also stating his belief that Ferrari has the right team principal in place.

“Same story as always,” Sainz said. “The moment that the results don’t click in Ferrari, there is always finger-pointing by the media, and all this chaos happening when for me, it’s all about focusing on the process, and delivering when it matters.

“If you ask me, Fred, I have a great relationship with him in the past. Obviously, we went through a tough month where he didn’t want me and signed Lewis! But apart from that, we made peace about it and get on well, and I always rated him as a team principal and as a person.”