“He is also emotional”: Fred Vasseur opens up on Lewis Hamilton’s personality 

Lewis Hamilton joined Charles Leclerc and Fred Vasseur at Ferrari ahead of the 2025 F1 season to bring the Scuderia back to winning ways. However, the debut season at the Maranello-based team hasn't been the easiest for the seven-time F1 champion, as the team principal recently came out and opened up about Hamilton's personality.

Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari after racing with Mercedes for over a decade and winning six titles with the Silver Arrows. The Maranello-based team is unique in the way it operates and for its culture, with Ferrari being considered a religion in Italy.

The seven-time F1 champion is 15 races into his debut season with the Scuderia and has failed to score a single podium. The last three races have been woeful for the Briton, with the qualifying struggles at Spa Francorchamps, finishing outside the points at Budapest, and a crash at Zaandvoort.

As Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc prepare for the next F1 round at Temple of Speed, the home race of the Scuderia, Monza, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur came out on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast, spoke about Hamilton's recent form, how the team is supporting the Briton, and opened up about the seven-time champion’s personality.

When questioned by Tom Clarkson on whether Hamilton is a good motivator, Fred Vasseur replied,

“This for sure, but he's also emotional. It means that it's also us to support him when he's struggling, and we also need to push him when he's struggling. You know that Spa and Budapest was difficult for him, but he can be sure that he has the full support of everybody at Maranello to recover, to be back.” (42:50 onwards)

“I'm really convinced that he will do it, and we have to be supportive with him on every single day, and I will be supportive every single day with Lewis,” added Vasseur

Lewis Hamilton has been visibly downbeat in his post-session interviews in the last couple of race weekends, and the same was suggested by his comments, as he called himself “useless” after the Hungarian GP qualifying.

---

Charles Leclerc expects Lewis Hamilton to be “shocked” at Monza

Monza is Ferrari's home race, and fans gather from across the country to celebrate the Scuderia at the Temple of Speed. Charles Leclerc, who won at Monza in 2019 & 2024, and has been racing in the Ferrari colors for over 6 years, knows how special the Italian GP is while wearing the Red overalls.

F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands - Final Practice - Source: Getty

As Lewis Hamilton approached his first Italian GP in Ferrari colors, Leclerc came out and suggested that he expected the Briton to be shocked by how special the Monza race was for the Maranello-based team.

“I'm pretty sure that he will still be shocked by how special this week feels, but he's gone through a lot more than what I had done back then.” (via Motorsport)

“I just told him how crazy it's going to be and how tiring the week is. It's a strange feeling because it's tiring, but it's full of positive energy from the Tuesday to the Sunday. So you actually don't really feel how tired you are until you actually finish the race on Sunday. And that's very positive. We've discussed about it a little bit and I think he's really looking forward to it,” added Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton will carry a 5-place grid penalty to Monza after he failed to slow down under yellow flags at the Dutch GP during the reconnaissance lap.