Lewis Hamilton responds to Fred Vasseur’s Ferrari renewal

Lewis Hamilton has hailed Ferrari’s decision to hand team principal Fred Vasseur a contract renewal as the “right choice”.

On Thursday morning ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Ferrari put an end to the rumours surrounding Vasseur’s position as team boss by announcing a new “multi-year” extension.

Speculation about Vasseur’s future had swirled after reports in Italian media claimed Ferrari was considering sacking the Frenchman, though the team were quick to rubbish the claims.

Any doubts that Vasseur would continue on in his role have now been completely quashed, and seven-time world champion Hamilton, who supported Vasseur amid the rumours, is pleased with the news.

“I only heard yesterday about it, so... And you've heard my positive comments about Fred... I've told everyone that,” Hamilton told media including Crash.net.

“There's nothing else to add, I told you before that it was the right choice. Fred signed me here and I really wanted to work with him.”

On adapting to Ferrari’s environment and his quest to improve with the team, Hamilton explained: "It's just trying to understand the environment that you're in, you have to adapt, and I think the people you work with ultimately will learn to adapt to cater to you.

“The response has been amazing to the steps that we've taken in all areas, and the passion and the desire to continue to do better is what's the most amazing thing in this team.

“Just everyone just wants to do better and find ways of being better, and that's why I know this team has absolutely every ingredient that's needed to succeed, and I truly believe in that. That’s why I signed.”

Hamilton pushing to improve Ferrari in all areas

Hamilton revealed at the Belgian Grand Prix that he has written documents for Ferrari’s engineers detailing the improvements he believes can be made to the car.

The 40-year-old Briton is also pushing for general gains within Ferrari’s organisation and structure, and is using his experience from 12 highly successful years at Mercedes.

“All I can say just from my previous experience is I remember the real positive when I was working with Toto [Wolff, Mercedes team principal] is just how he was able to utilise individuals, figure out how people work best, and how to get the most out of someone,” he said.

“So, for example with me, he created freedom for me to be able to express myself the way I wanted to, and that enabled me to be the best version of myself, and that's what he would do there.

"And I think Fred's framework is very similar in that respect, and so I'm still learning, trying to learn the way that Fred likes to work, but I have absolute confidence in Fred, as I've always said.”

Asked if there are any similarities between Vasseur and Wolff’s style, Hamilton replied: "No, completely different, completely different. But in terms of the characters, they're both massive racers, so that's what they have in common.”