Lewis Hamilton “also has to do a step” in Ferrari car development, says team chief

Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton confirmed that he was getting closer to understanding his new Ferrari machinery after 12 seasons at Mercedes. Team principal Fred Vasseur has now added to this, admitting that his seven-time world champion also needs to adjust his approach.

Moving to Ferrari was never going to be a cake walk for the driver, with this season pegged to be one of adaptation for both Hamilton and the team.

“You won’t replace 12 years of collaboration in two weeks or in two races,” he told he media. “That means that for sure we need to improve, but I think this is true for everybody in the team, in the paddock, that we have the DNA for our sport is to try to do a better job and I think it’s good to have Lewis with this mindset to say, ‘OK, I have to improve also myself and to adapt myself to the car.'”

The Ferrari boss continued: “We will work on the car to adapt the car to Lewis, but he also has to do a step. And I think this, between us, is done in a positive way and a very constructive way.”

This came after a difficult qualifying for the Briton on the Saturday of his Bahrain campaign, where he qualified ninth. Come the race, however, he was able to improve his pace, finishing the Grand Prix in fifth directly behind his teammate.

“I appreciated the direction of Lewis on Saturday and I did my best to push him a little bit, and on Sunday he was in very good shape,” Vasseur added.

The Frenchman has been able to manage the expectations around his driver so far this season. 

“We have to stay calm in terms of judgement of the performance because sometimes for almost nothing you can change a good weekend to a very poor one, and visa versa.”

The Bahrain Grand Prix saw Hamilton take a step forward in his understanding of the SF-25.

“The middle stint, I felt really aligned with the car. My driving style seemed to be working in that moment,” he said following the race.  “And so learned a lot today, and this weekend, actually. A lot. Probably more than all the other weekends.

“The key is to try and get back to it every weekend. It’s clear our car really does require a different driving style, and I think I’m slowly adjusting to that.

“And also set-up, I’ve been a bit all over the place, a long way from Charles the past two weekends, and then slowly migrated towards him.

“So I think, if I start the weekend with a more convenient spot, and apply the techniques that I learned this weekend, hopefully we’ll be in a good place.”