Finger pointed at Lewis Hamilton for ‘exaggerating problems, extreme reactions’

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton is guilty of ‘exaggerating’ his problems with the car during the 2025 F1 season.

Hamilton has endured a disappointing first 14 races at Ferrari, failing to finish inside the top three at any grand prix.

That’s compared to Charles Leclerc, who scored five podiums this year, including a pole position last time at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

While Hamilton showed some progress around the Canadian Grand Prix, out-qualifying Leclerc three times in four races, his confidence took a knock before the summer break.

Hamilton was knocked out in Q1 twice at Spa, while in Hungary, he was lapped and finished outside the points.

In an interview with German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Vasseur made a remarkable claim that Hamilton “sometimes exaggerates the problems he sees in the car”.

“We solve the problems step by step,” Vasseur explained. “They’re not huge, they just look that way.

“If the braking system isn’t quite how the driver would like it, then maybe half a tenth is lost there. From the outside, it’s often difficult to quickly identify exactly where he’s losing that half-tenth.

“Such a minimal time difference can ruin your whole weekend. It can be the difference between Q2 and Q3. Lewis sometimes exaggerates the problems he sees in the car.

“The team then naturally wants to respond and everyone jumps on the problem.”

Hamilton “extreme in his reactions”

Lewis Hamilton has given several downbeat interviews following difficult sessions this year.

In Hungary, Hamilton called himself “useless” and suggested Ferrari should consider changing drivers.

Vasseur feels that Hamilton is too “self-critical” and too hard on himself, particularly when speaking to the media shortly after getting out of the car.

“Stay calm,” Vasseur added. “Build on the fact that he has already taken the first step. Don’t let things like what happened in Budapest get you down.

“Lewis is very self-critical. He is always extreme in his reactions. Sometimes he is too hard on the car, sometimes on himself.

“He wants to get the most out of himself and everyone in the team. You have to calm him down and explain to him that in Q2 [in Hungary] he was only a tenth of a second behind the driver [Leclerc] who later took pole position. That’s no big deal.

“The message he sends out only makes things worse. Most of the time, he’s only that extreme with the press. By the time he comes into the briefing room, he’s usually calmed down again. That’s just his way.

“For me, it’s no big deal. He demands a lot. From others, but also from himself. I can live with that. Nico Hulkenberg was the same when he drove for me in Formula 3. He demanded an awful lot from the team, but he was also there every morning at 6.30 a.m.”