(Motorsport-Total.com) – When you sign a seven-time world champion with almost two decades of Formula 1 experience, you know you’re not just hiring a driver. Frederic Vasseur knew exactly that by signing Lewis Hamilton last year, he would be exposing Ferrari to a force of nature.
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A determined veteran who knows exactly what drives him and what doesn’t, after experiencing twelve years of technical excellence at Mercedes and now moving to a team that had not yet celebrated a title win in its current Formula 1 era.
At 41, Hamilton’s revival at Ferrari is one of the standout stories of the 2026 Formula 1 season. For the Scuderia itself, it was also a shock to the system.
During a difficult 2025 season, Hamilton struggled to fit into his new environment. Not due to lack of effort, but because the car, setup, and other aspects of the working methods in Maranello did not match what he was used to.
Hamilton wanted to see a team that pushed the boundaries of innovation more strongly and helped team principal Frederic Vasseur to drive a cultural change to become less risk-averse. Hamilton also praised Vasseur for “moving mountains to make me comfortable” – from restructuring his engineering team to changing the brake configuration.
That is easier said than done in an organization with more than 1,000 employees that often resists change and takes years to transform. The Formula 1 cost cap also means that teams must proceed wisely and efficiently with drastic changes in the factory, as these compete with the team’s development budget.
Why Ferrari did not implement all of Hamilton’s proposals
In an exclusive interview with Autosport, Vasseur reveals that he could not implement every change Hamilton wanted. When asked if there was ever hesitation given the number of changes Hamilton requested, Vasseur laughs: “Yes, but we didn’t do everything he wanted!”
“But proposals are always welcome. That applies to Lewis, that applies to Charles. That applies to every single driver. After every single event, they come with a list of things they would have liked to improve,” he reveals.
“On that list, some points are beyond what is feasible because you cannot implement them for the team, and they very quickly understand that from the team’s perspective it doesn’t make sense – whether due to the cost cap or other reasons.”
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“Sometimes they don’t have the full overview of the situation, but at least it’s good for me to understand where they think we have weaknesses. And sometimes you understand something through their input because you were focused on the team perspective and realize it looks a bit different for the drivers.”
Vasseur admits that Hamilton’s arrival was a shock to Ferrari’s system. But Hamilton’s long time at Mercedes and his knowledge of what a title-winning team looks like and how it works were beneficial for the overall development of the racing team as he set about tackling the 2026 regulations aggressively.
Vasseur: “Very open discussion” with both drivers
“It’s good to shake the system up a bit,” explains Vasseur, emphasizing: “If you stay in your bubble your whole life, always with the same people, you will eventually have difficulty improving. That applies to the drivers. That applies to the engineers when you hire people from other teams.”
“That’s the beauty of Formula 1: that we have three or four teams that can place a car within 0.050 seconds in the sprint qualifying in Zandvoort, while going different ways with different concepts, different engines, different strategies, and so on.”
“In the end, we’re all in the same range. That’s why sometimes it helps to hire people from other teams with a different perspective,” says Vasseur, who explains: “The hardest part is to see the integration of these people as an added value and not as a disruptive process. But that applies to the engineers. It also applies to the drivers. If you take the best from their know-how, you will improve.”
With Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who is expected to become Ferrari’s longest-serving driver in the 2027 season, Vasseur believes he is having a “very open discussion” about where the team needs to develop next.
“One of the key qualities of drivers is to be able to contribute to the development of the team,” he says. “The worst-case scenario is when you start the conversation and feel the other is just looking for an excuse. But if you have a good relationship, it’s never an excuse.”
“I think we have this positive attitude to help each other and understand that the other can have a different perspective. I’m not always right, I’m not always wrong, and only through collaboration, discussion, and exchange will we improve,” says Vasseur.
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