Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur finds silver lining for Lewis Hamilton despite race-ending crash in the F1 Dutch GP

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was looking at the silver lining for Lewis Hamilton after the race in Zandvoort, as the Brit crashed out of the event. The Frenchman pointed out an improved run from Hamilton in terms of performance, where he was more or less on par with Charles Leclerc throughout the race weekend.

The F1 Dutch GP didn't go Ferrari's way whatsoever, as the team suffered a double DNF. It all began with Lewis Hamilton crashing out of the race at the slippery part of the banking.

It got even worse when teammate Charles Leclerc, who was in contention for a potential podium, suffered a DNF by a collision with Kimi Antonelli. The Ferrari boss was, however, quite positive about the 7x F1 champion, as he opted to look at his improved pace all weekend.

Unlike the last few race weekends, where Lewis Hamilton has struggled to keep up with Charles Leclerc, the race in Zandvoort saw the driver be within a tenth of his teammate. Talking to Motorsport, this was what Fred was taking away from the weekend, as he said,

"He was quiet Thursday because he'd had two tough weekends before the break. Friday was more the car than him. I can be more than pleased with the job done. The pace today from Lewis was a good one. He lost the car, but overall, the contribution was very good. After Monaco, the quali pace was good, then Canada, Silverstone, Austria – he was improving."

He added,

"The last two races before the break were tough, but in Q3 he's only one tenth off Charles. We must stay calm and take the season on average. Honestly, after the race he was much more positive than the last four or five events. He was on the pace, fighting Russell. We recovered from Friday, so the mood was positive. He can take a lot from the weekend and build confidence for Monza."

Ferrari would check if there was something wrong on Lewis Hamilton's car

The crash came out of the blue for Lewis Hamilton in the race, as at that moment the driver was closing the gap to George Russell in front of him. The track was a bit slippery, and that did potentially lead to the incident. Vasseur revealed that the team would have a look at the car if there was something wrong that led to the crash, even though he admitted he had his doubts. He said,

"We need to investigate if something happened on the car, but I don't think so. Overall the reaction from Lewis was good; he was into the pace of the car and of Charles [Leclerc], catching up [George] Russell and fighting with him. It was a good recovery after two tough races before the break, but the outcome is not the one expected."

Heading to the next race in Monza, Lewis Hamilton already has a major blow for him, as the British driver has been handed a 5-place grid penalty. Things have not started as well as he would have hoped, and the driver will be hoping to fight back in the coming races.