The seven-time world champion experienced yet another frustrating race, this time around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, finishing no higher than seventh place.

It's been a tough start to life at the Scuderia for the 40-year-old, unable to finish above fifth place so far in Grands Prix this season, with the only joy coming in that one sprint day at the Chinese Grand Prix, taking sprint qualifying and sprint victory around the Shanghai International Circuit.

Hamilton saw teammate Charles Leclerc secure third place, grabbing his first F1 podium of 2025, while the Brit could only achieve P7, then described his race as "unenjoyable" and predicted the rest of his season to be ‘painful’.

Despite this, Vasseur fiercely defends his driver, striking out at critics in clear terms.

"I will be 2000 per cent behind him," Vasseur stated firmly. "I will give him support, and we will start from tomorrow morning to try to find solutions and reasons and to work on it early in the morning."

According to the Frenchman, it's mainly a matter of balance and tyre temperatures that are causing the Brit issues.

"It's a kind of negative spot but I think the potential of the car is there and we will try to solve that," Vasseur said.

It was then suggested post-race that Hamilton’s form has dramatically dropped, which saw team boss Vasseur respond furiously.

"It's not dramatic. We did five races so far," he snapped back. " I know that you want to have the big headlines tomorrow that 'Fred said this'. But this is f****** b******t. At the end of the day, we are in competition. You have ups and downs.

Vasseur believes Hamilton's performances are judged more harshly than others, along with Max Verstappen: "I'm not sure that you draw the same conclusion with Max last week when he was seventh. It is like it is. The competition is tight.

But Vasseur does not see this as a transitional year for Hamilton after 12 years with Mercedes: "It's not a transitional time, but for sure he's down because when you finish the race in sixth, your team-mate is on the podium.

"Now we have to work together to react together, and it will be the only way to move forward," concluded a passionate Vasseur.