Fred Vasseur disagrees with one Lewis Hamilton complaint after latest Ferrari woes at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton exited Q2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the fourth time this season, and Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has disagreed with his complaint over one of the decisions that the team made ahead of the qualifying session.

The British driver will start Sunday’s Grand Prix two places behind his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc after the Monegasque brought out the first of two red flags in Q3 with a crash at turn 15.

It was a disappointing result for Hamilton after he had a positive opening day to the race weekend, which saw both Ferraris in a one-two formation on Friday afternoon. F1 rival Max Verstappen took pole position in the end, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson in a surprising end to qualifying.

Hamilton pleaded with his Ferrari race engineer during the qualifying shootout, asking for advice on how to manage his rear tyres after seemingly struggling with the balance of his SF-25 in the gusty conditions.

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Fred Vasseur disagrees with Lewis Hamilton’s verdict on Ferrari’s qualifying strategy

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 in the media pen following his exit from Q2, the seven-time world champion was asked to explain what happened in Saturday’s qualifying session after his impressive times from the day before.

“The team chose to run me on the medium in Q2, and Charles was meant to run it on the second run in Q2, but then, because everyone else wasn’t out on them, we opted to keep it, and then all the top 10 basically had three mediums,” Hamilton said.

“We knew that the medium was quicker by, they said it was about three-tenths or something like that, and it felt great, and we should have run it in Q2.

“One of the things that kind of factored into it was a bit of direction the team were pushing for us to go with some of the setup, which didn’t feel as good as FP2. But I felt like we made a lot of progress, and we were looking really strong. I think we didn’t make any mistakes.

“It’s just then, because I was on the back foot with only two mediums, with thinking of having two mediums in Q3, when you’ve got to get to Q3 first. So ultimately, just not the best execution. So, definitely disappointed, but lots of positives to take.”

Asked about Hamilton’s verdict on Sky Sport Italia, Vasseur replied, “Hamilton said execution was a problem? I don’t think it was the tyre choice but the working window of the tyres. Charles’ lap until the crash wasn’t bad; he was on par with Norris until then.”

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Anthony Davidson thought Lewis Hamilton had a breakthrough with Ferrari during FP2

Hamilton finished Friday’s practice sessions with the fastest time on the board, something that he was unable to replicate when it came to the laps that mattered most in qualifying.

Speaking before FP3 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday, Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson highlighted how it looked like the Ferrari driver had finally turned things around after the team made a change to the brake discs on the SF-25.

“It’s just all part of the driver integrating themselves into the team, getting used to completely different machinery, a different car under you, and the brake pedal, it’s a muscle memory thing,” Davidson told viewers.

“When you hit the brake pedal, there’s not much travel in a Formula 1 car’s braking. Most people, if they’re lucky enough to jump into an F1 car and press the brake pedal, think it’s broken.

“They think there’s something wrong, and it’s not moving. Well, that’s what they do. So it’s a muscle memory and how much pressure you put onto the brake pedal and how much retardation you get, therefore, for that pressure.

“So the change of team really upset him in that element of the car, and it’s something that, finally, feels like he’s sorting out.”

Fellow pundit Karun Chandhok revealed that Ferrari made changes to Hamilton’s brakes in order to give the British driver more confidence in them when entering braking zones.

Due to the narrow nature of the Baku City Circuit, the brakes are a crucial factor in determining whether drivers make it out of a corner cleanly or end up with a shunt into the barriers.