Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur says he expects Lewis Hamilton to get to the podium in 2025 after seeing encouraging signs in recent races.
Hamilton took a surprise pole-to-flag sprint race win in China, but otherwise his maiden Ferrari season has not yet delivered the success the seven-time world champion had in mind, taking longer than anticipated to adjust to a vastly difference setting compared to his long-time Mercedes home.
The British driver was particularly disconsolate with his qualifying form before the summer break, but while he is still trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc in qualifying and suffered a rare crash in Zandvoort, the 40-year-old has also shown signs of getting much closer to the Monegasque driver on pure speed.
According to team boss Vasseur, that upturn in raw performance will result in a breakthrough grand prix podium sooner rather than later.
“Yes, because he was able to fight with [George] Russell in Zandvoort, and [he was able] to come back from P10 to the gearbox of Russell [in Monza],” Vasseur said. “Russell was a couple of times on the podium. Yes, we can expect him to be on the podium.”
Vasseur thinks the Ferrari tifosi’s passionate reception for Hamilton in Maranello and Monza certainly hasn’t hurt, but feels the Briton’s turnaround had already been in the making.
Fans of Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
“Honestly, I think this started in Zandvoort last week,” the Frenchman argued. “It’s difficult to say because the outcome of the weekend was not positive for him. But at the end of the day, the pace was better from the beginning compared to Charles. The mood was better. During the race, he was fighting with Russell until lap 30. That means that he was back in a better position.
“I think the energy that he received from the tifosi on Wednesday and Thursday in Milan was something very special for him. I don’t know what he was expecting from this. But it was something mega. And I think this gave him an extra boost all over the weekend.
“For sure, we had to serve the [five-place grid] penalty. We knew from the beginning of the weekend that it was plus five. It’s not an easy one. But we came back behind Russell. And the pace was there from the first lap of FP1 to the last lap of the race.”
Hamilton heads to next week’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix sixth in the drivers’ standings on 117 points, trailing fifth-placed stablemate Leclerc by 46 points.
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