F1 News
Vasseur admits it was "not difficult to convince" Hamilton to join Ferrari
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has said that convincing Lewis Hamilton to join Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season "was not too difficult". The seven-time world champion will make the huge move from Mercedes to Ferrari as he searches for his record-breaking eighth drivers title after 12 seasons at the German team. The French team boss explained how he persuaded Hamilton to join the Scuderia.
Hamilton and Mercedes grew to be the most successful team and driver partnerships the sport has ever seen, earning six drivers' championships and eight constructors' championships in his time at the German team.
However, after the heartbreaking 2021 season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Mercedes have been unable to find the pace and consistency to challenge for titles once again, and that has resulted in Hamilton making the move away to join the Prancing Horse, who have shown more promise than Mercedes in the last two seasons, and that is why Vasseur was able to recruit the 39-year-old to join his team.
Hamilton "had the project to drive for Ferrari in his mind"
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports at the team's factory in Maranello, Vasseur explained how he was able to persuade Hamilton into coming to Ferrari in 2025: "In 2023, we won more races than Mercedes, and the beginning of the season was good also, so that it was not too difficult to convince him that Ferrari would be a good project. And I think he had the project to drive for Ferrari in his mind for at least 22 years, or 23 years, because we were discussing about this in 2004. It meant that it was not too difficult."
Both Vasseur and Hamilton have worked with each other before in the world of motorsport, with the Frenchman being the team boss of the Brit in the junior categories during the mid-2000s. That may have also played a part in the negotiations, but as Vasseur continued, he also said there was a bit of luck involved too: "I think sometimes it's also a matter of coincidence, or to align all the planets, that he is on the market and that Ferrari has a seat available, and so on. But the contact was an easy one. We started to discuss one year ago, and it was not difficult to convince him, at all."
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