rewrite this title Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur says he and driver ‘stupidly’ underestimated challenge of joining Italian team

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has admitted that he and Lewis Hamilton “stupidly” underestimated the challenge the seven-time world champion would face in joining the Italian squad.

Hamilton made a blockbuster switch to join Ferrari at the start of the 2025 season after spending 12 years at Mercedes, who he had joined in 2013 having driven at McLaren for the first six years of his Formula 1 career.

The 40-year-old’s debut campaign with Ferrari has been extremely underwhelming, with the Brit left sixth in the drivers’ standings and without a grand prix podium as the sport reached its August summer break with 14 of the season’s 24 rounds complete.

Hamilton hit a new emotional low in the final round before the break in Hungary, as he declared himself “useless” and said Ferrari needed to change driver, after qualifying 12th when his team-mate Charles Leclerc – who has five grand prix podiums this season – claimed pole.

Reflecting on Hamilton’s struggles ahead of the season’s resumption with the Dutch Grand Prix from August 29-31, Vasseur told The Race: “Lewis and I, we collectively, probably underestimated the change of environment, and the fact that he spent, for me, 20 years in the same team.

“McLaren was Mercedes, and then he moved to Mercedes, an English team [based in Brackley], same engine guys, that same culture and so on.

“So, he spent 2006 to 2024, 18 years, in this environment, and then he arrived at Ferrari. And we were stupidly expecting that he will have everything under control.”

Even before his struggles at the Hungaroring, Hamilton had admitted upon arriving in Budapest that there would “be some tears” during the summer break as he attempted to come to terms with “a real battle” of a start to life at Ferrari.

A week earlier in Belgium, Hamilton revealed he had been submitting documents to Ferrari bosses and holding meetings with key figures across the team in an attempt to ensure the partnership is more successful in 2026.

While there have been occasional bright spots, most notably a Sprint pole and victory at the second round of the season in China, Hamilton has largely struggled to get to grips with the SF-25.

Vasseur also explained why he thinks the Brit might be finding it more challenging than the driver he replaced at Ferrari, Williams’ Carlos Sainz, to switch teams.

“He’s not the guy who changed team every two years,” Vasseur said.

“You have guys on the grid that, if you have a look on Carlos, for example, he did Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren, us and Williams in eight years.

“He changed four times. He’s used to dealing with this. Lewis was not the case.

“Culturally speaking, there is a bigger difference between Ferrari and Mercedes than between Mercedes and McLaren. And this we underestimated.”

Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 29-31, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime