F1 | Vasseur: “Ferrari is the best option and childhood dream for Hamilton”

2024 has only archived the first Formula 1 race, but there is one thing that is already generating great anticipation with a view to 2025. The news of Lewis Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari took the entire paddock by surprise like a bolt from the blue, but inevitably it also created enormous expectations.

The seven-time world champion has decided to give a grand finale to his glorious career, but all the people involved in this sensational negotiation are ready to swear that it is not just a “last dance”, but that Lewis will arrive in Maranello with the desire to chase his eighth title. Among these there is also team principal Frederic Vasseur, who in an interview with RMC Sport spoke about the alignment of planets when asked how this crazy idea was born.

“How did it happen? Lewis was a driver of mine about twenty years ago, in F3 and F2. We won both titles together and have remained very close over the years. I had this thing in mind for a long time, but he hadn't It makes sense to imagine Lewis Hamilton driving a Sauber,” said Vasseur.

“Then there was a moment when the planets aligned: I arrived at Ferrari and he at the end of his contract with Mercedes. I think we both wanted to work together again, and Lewis wanted to drive for Ferrari ever since when he started, but I think it's something that all drivers want to do. Then, it's the opportunity that makes the man thief, but I don't want to go into too much detail (laughs),” he added.

The French manager was unable to indicate a real turning point in the negotiations, explaining however that the Cavallino probably represented the best option for Hamilton to try to return to winning ways after the last two seasons with Mercedes were very disappointing .

“This type of deal can fall through at the last minute. As you can imagine, these are large, complex contracts, so I never said to myself, 'Come on, it's going to happen.' I just said to myself that this was an extraordinary opportunity to the team, for a whole series of reasons, and that we needed to work on it in the same way we develop the car.”

“But until the end I tried to train everything so that it went well and then very quickly I sensed a real motivation in Lewis, because he was convinced that, perhaps after Red Bull, we were his best chance to win the title. And that was the No. 1 motivation for him.”

“This is where the planets aligned, because he is very motivated to win. I think he is a mega-champion who, despite the 103 victories, still has the same determination as when he had 0. He is very motivated, yes he works very hard, he is very demanding of himself and of the people around him. Today, when he looks around, he says that if he wants to be a champion, going to Red Bull risks being complicated, because they don't have a close relationship.”

“Behind Red Bull, for him, the best option is definitely Ferrari and at the same time it is in line with a childhood dream of his. Furthermore, he knows that this is probably his last contract, so he knew he had to make the right choices and that's what he wanted to talk about”, he concluded.