Fred Vasseur is officially done with the chatter. The Ferrari team principal fired back in Bahrain at what he sees as a growing media fixation over Lewis Hamilton’s unsettled race-engineer situation.
And the Frenchman made it abundantly clear that, in his view, the narrative has spiraled far beyond its actual importance.
In the F1 paddock, whispers have been multiplying faster than lap times. Hamilton, still without a permanent race engineer through pre-season testing, has become the center of endless speculation.
Riccardo Adami’s reassignment opened a revolving door: first sharing Charles Leclerc’s engineer Bryan Bozzi in Barcelona, then working with Carlo Santi in Bahrain – all while rumors swirl about a possible appointment of former McLaren trackside engineer Cedric Michel-Grosjean.
Setting the Record Straight
Hamilton himself admitted last week that the lack of stability could be “detrimental,” a single word that ignited headlines and fed a narrative of internal uncertainty. But Vasseur appears thoroughly unimpressed with the drama.
When asked about the situation, the Frenchman insisted the tone of his private discussions with Hamilton differs sharply from the public perception.
“It’s not exactly the discussion that we had,” he said. “I think the collaboration between the team and Lewis on the pit wall is very good.
“It’s not that he was not committed, but [is high] in confidence and very open to the relationship.
“My feeling is very positive with this and we will continue to improve. The mindset is to try to do a better job tomorrow than today.
“I think that if we have areas where we can improve, I will continue to push in this direction, but Lewis is in a very good mindset.”
Team Above All
Yet the temperature truly rose when Vasseur was pressed again on why Hamilton still lacks a fixed engineer. His patience snapped – politely, but unmistakably.
“Please stop with this story!” he urged.
“If you go into the paddock of 22 cars, you have approximately six or seven new engineers each year and the same with the team principals.
“I’m probably the oldest [longest-serving] one with Toto [Wolff]. You are changing three or four Team Principals each year and it’s not the end of the team.
“The team today is something like 1,500 people. It’s not about one race engineer.
“The guy that you see on the pit wall is leading a team of people working on the car and it’s not a matter of individuals.
“In F1, it’s always about the team. It’s never about an individual.”
Behind the measured words lies a pointed warning: Ferrari refuses to let one unresolved role overshadow an operation built on thousands.
In Vasseur’s world, personalities make headlines – but teams win championships.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook
