Italian media reports claim Ferrari are considering replacing Formula 1 team principal Frederic Vasseur and driver Lewis Hamilton has come out in support of the Frenchman
Lewis Hamilton has promised: “I’m here for the long haul,” despite his difficult start to life as a Ferrari driver. And the Brit begged Italian newspapers to “stop making stuff up” after reports emerged claiming team boss Frederic Vasseur is at risk of being axed.
Corriere della Sera claimed yesterday that Vasseur’s position “is no longer solid” with “results far from the initial objectives”. That’s despite Ferrari being second in the teams’ standings, albeit already a whopping 197 points adrift of runaway leaders McLaren.
Reports from Italy suggested Ferrari could axe Vasseur and replace him with Antonelli Coletta, who leads their hypercar programme. But a Ferrari spokesperson has dismissed speculation over the Frenchman’s future as being complete nonsense. And 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’s 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.
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“Things aren’t perfect but 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. Ultimately, it’s nonsense what people have written. Most people don’t know what’s going on in the background.”
Hamilton has found it difficult to adjust to life at Ferrari and his best Grand Prix result to date was fourth place in Imola last month. After the last race in Barcelona, where he laboured to sixth place, the seven-time F1 champion said it was “the worst race I can remember”.
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Team-mate Charles Leclerc made it to the podium but he too has been frustrated with Ferrari’s lack of performance this year after they pushed McLaren all the way last term. The Monegasque has a contract until 2029 and Hamilton, 40, insists he and Vasseur are in it for the long haul at Ferrari.
He said: “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 [axing Vasseur] is not any part of the discussion at the moment.
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“I don’t think that’s on the cards, as far as I’m aware, and that’s certainly not something that I would be supportive of. I’m here to win with Fred, and he has my full support. To everyone that’s writing stories of me considering not racing, I literally only just started, my first year here with Ferrari and I’m here for several years.
“I’m here for the long haul, so there is no question about where my head is at and what I’m working towards achieving with this team. So there’s zero doubts. So please stop making up stuff.”
