Hamilton Suggests Ferrari Need Leadership Changes But Backs Vasseur

SEPANG (Malaysia), Oct 1 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- Lewis Hamilton has called for leadership changes at Ferrari but insisted that under-pressure team principal Fred Vasseur is "the right guy" to take the Italian giants forward, PA Media/dpa reported.

Hamilton's hopes of a record eighth world championship have dwindled since his maiden Ferrari win in June, and he heads into this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 103 points behind Kimi Antonelli.

Vasseur's position at the helm of Ferrari is in the spotlight, with out-of-work Christian Horner stepping up his interest in the post after recently declaring it a "dream" to lead the Scuderia.

Ferrari responded to Horner by issuing a statement through its communications department declaring "full confidence" in Vasseur, 58, who joined the team in 2023. Above Vasseur in the hierarchy are executive chairman John Elkann and chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna.

But, speaking at the Sepang International Circuit, 40 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, Hamilton said: "Structure is very important, and so is stability. Everyone rowing in the same direction is key in any business.

"There often seems to be a lot of focus on one individual and one role here. Fred is a fantastic leader and he really is the guy to take this team in the right direction.

"However, there is a structure that has been there for some time, and whether or not that needs looking at moving forward is a question. There are obviously also people above Fred, and it is not about one person.

"Fred has led the team and helped make changes to get us to second in the constructors' championship which is a huge step from last year."

Referencing his former boss Toto Wolff, who is one-third owner of Mercedes and also the team principal, Hamilton continued: "There are changes that I would make but I am not going to talk about what those are.

"Toto is in a different position (at Mercedes) to Fred. The structure is a lot different. And that's all I want to say about it really."

Ferrari remain the most successful team in Formula One but they have not delivered a world-championship winning driver since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

And Hamilton conceded that the criticism swirling around Ferrari is impacting the team.

"For me it is frustrating to see all the negativity," he added. "You see other teams making mistakes and no-one says too much about it.

"We make the same mistake, and we know we are not perfect, but it is 10 times worse for Ferrari.

"I don't read all the stuff, so it has zero effect on me but when I come into the room I can see it definitely affects individuals on the team.

"They try to show up and do the best job they can. They don't get it right all the time but when families are messaging you about all the negative things they are reading, and the people back at the factory are reading all those things too, even though they are giving it their all, it feels as though there is nothing you can do right.

"The message from me is, 'don't read any of the stuff that is written because anybody who writes this stuff doesn't have any clue. They are not in the team, they don't know what is happening behind closed doors and they don't know how hard everyone is working, and it is all done by assumptions and opinions'.

"We are going to focus on doing the best job we can regardless of what is written. I knew it wasn't going to be in my second year (at Ferrari) where we would be, where we want to be, but I am hoping and praying that we will get there."

-- BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa