Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari chief Frederic Vasseur praises driver’s mindset after Bahrain GP post-qualifying fightback | F1 News

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur said he ‘liked’ the fact Lewis Hamilton was disappointed about his qualifying result at the Bahrain Grand Prix as he praised his driver’s mindset and subsequent “very strong” recovery drive.

Hamilton cut a downbeat figure after qualifying ninth at Sakhir last Saturday, describing his performance as “poor” and apologising to the team for “not doing a good enough job”.

But the seven-time world champion’s race-day drive to fifth place offered more promise, with Hamilton suggesting afterwards: “I think I’ve figured out how the car likes to drive.”

Although he claimed a brilliant pole and win in the short-form Sprint format at the season’s second round in China last month, Hamilton has otherwise trailed new team-mate Charles Leclerc so far and openly admitted he is taking time to adapt to the driving style required for Ferrari’s car and new ways of working after over a decade at Mercedes.

And speaking after the race, an understanding Vasseur said: “You won’t replace 12 years of collaboration in two weeks or in two races. For sure, we need to improve but this is true for everybody in the team, in the paddock, that the DNA for our sport is to try to do a better job.

“It’s good to have Lewis with this mindset ‘I have to improve also myself, and to adapt myself to the car’ and we will adapt the car to Lewis but he had to do a step. This is done in a positive way and a very constructive way between us.

“The fact he was a bit down yesterday evening, I like it. If he comes back and says ‘I’m 10th, it’s a shame’, so he was disappointed because he was better in the rest of the weekend.

“In F1 today, if you make a mistake you lose six or seven positions. That was not the case three or four years ago.

“We have to stay calm in terms of judgment of the performance, because sometimes, for almost nothing, you can change a good weekend into a very poor one.

“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 said Hamilton’s post-qualifying disappointment was normal and that he saw positive signs from the Briton’s performance over the rest of the weekend.

“I understand his frustration from qualifying because if you look at all the practice sessions, then Q1 and Q2, he was plus or minus one tenth from Charles,” he added.

“Then you arrive to Q3, the first lap is deleted and the second one he made a mistake and you pay the price. For sure, a bit of frustration for him and us also.

“He had a very strong recovery, a solid race that he came back. I think the race time compared to the top two or three was almost similar.”

Brundle: Age isn’t Lewis’ problem for qualifying

As with the case with almost all of F1’s most significant records, Hamilton has claimed more pole positions (104) than any other driver in history but his poor qualifying record versus his team-mates over the past 12 months has prompted debate about whether the seven-time champion remains as absolutely fast as he once was.

He was trounced 19-5 by George Russell over a single lap in his final season at Mercedes last season, while he is already 3-1 down to Leclerc in Grands Prix sessions so far this year.

Hamilton turned 40 in January and is the second-oldest driver on the grid after 43-year-old Fernando Alonso,

However, Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle does not believe age is the factor that is holding Hamilton back over a single lap.

“Those sad interviews, we got quite used to those last year, that’s now replaying out at Ferrari,” said Brundle about Hamilton’s post-qualifying remarks in Bahrain.

“My experience is that different things go [with eyes]. I noticed my eyes going at Le Mans at night, for example. I think Sebastian Vettel lost a bit of peripheral vision, for example, if I think of the end of his career.

“I wouldn’t say there’s one size fits all on that, but I just still feel that age isn’t Lewis’ problem. I really don’t think he’s lost any vision or he’s lost any kind of driving ability as such. He just seems to have lost his way a little bit in getting a car how he likes it.

“And he’s got a host of young drivers around him who have got a well over 100 races experience, and they’re still in their mid-twenties.”

How quickly can Ferrari improve their 2025 car’s pace?

The Shanghai Sprint aside, Leclerc and Hamilton’s fourth and fifth place finishes in Bahrain represented Ferrari’s best combined result of their largely disappointing season so far.

Their car appeared particularly quick during the middle phase of the race although in the end, despite the appearance of the Safety Car closing the pack up for the final 22 laps, lead runner Leclerc still finished 20 seconds behind McLaren race winner Oscar Piastri at Sakhir.

“From situation to situation, it’s a bit different,” said Vasseur of their car’s pace. “You can have some stints when we are fighting with the McLarens like China, or at times in Bahrain.

“Overall, if you have a look, on the average of the season, I think we are missing two or three or four tenths. We are missing something. It means that we have to continue to work and don’t force things.

“When you have a look at the situation, things are much better when they are extreme and there’s more tyre management.”

Vasseur added: “The balance is not an easy one with the tyres because that we have different behaviour of the tyres, with the conditions, it means that the balance is also changing a lot.

“When I say ‘we, I mean Mercedes and Red Bull [too] are struggling more, compared to McLaren on consistency, and also for the drivers have a bit of frustration.

“At the end of FP2, the balance is good. At the beginning of FP3, it’s not but it’s where we have to improve together. It’s not the drivers, it’s the team. It’s a teamwork and it will come from ourselves.”

Ferrari head to Saudi Arabia for this weekend’s race fourth in the Constructors’ Championship and already 94 points behind the pace being set by dominant leaders McLaren.

Saudi Arabian GP dates, UK start time and Sky Sports F1’s live schedule – practice, qualifying and race

Thursday April 17

• 4pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday April 18

• 10.50am: F2 Practice
• 12pm: F1 Academy Practice
• 2pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice One (session starts at 2.30pm)
• 3.55pm: F2 Qualifying
• 4.40pm: Team Bosses’ Press Conference
• 5.45pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice Two (session starts at 6pm)
• 7.25pm: F1 Academy Qualifying
• 8.10pm: The F1 Show

Saturday April 19

• 1.15pm: F1 Academy Race 1
• 2.05pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice Three (session starts at 2.30pm)*
• 4.10pm: F2 Sprint
• 5.10pm: Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying build-up
• 6pm: SAUDI ARABIAN GP QUALIFYING

Sunday April 20

• 1pm: F1 Academy Race 2
• 2.20pm: F2 Feature Race
• 4.30pm: Saudi Arabian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
• 6pm: THE SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX*
• 8pm: Saudi Arabian GP reaction: Chequered flag

*Also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 completes its first triple-header of 2025 in Jeddah with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime