Fred Vasseur was right all along about Ferrari gamble that wrecked Lewis Hamilton’s first season

Follow us on Google Discover

Fred Vasseur largely sacrificed the 2025 Formula 1 season in the hope of making a fast start to the sport’s new era in 2026. And the early evidence suggests that the gamble has been successful.

It’s worth acknowledging at the outset that Mercedes have won all three races and taken all three pole positions so far this season. Australian GP winner George Russell finished 15.5 seconds ahead of top Ferrari Charles Leclerc, while Kimi Antonelli beat Lewis Hamilton by 25 seconds in China.

But Ferrari are clearly the second-fastest team, a marked step forward from last season when they finished fourth in the constructors’ championship. They have outperformed Red Bull and reigning champions McLaren.

There are still 20 races remaining, barring further disruption to the calendar, and the rate of development will be higher than ever, so the early pecking order is certainly not set in stone. Indeed, Ferrari are already working on an engine upgrade that could make them genuine title challengers.

Fred Vasseur suspended Ferrari’s 2025 development early and it has paid off

As he revealed in an interview last October, Vasseur stopped Ferrari’s development ‘very early’ last year. This was one of the main reasons that the Scuderia failed to win a race all season for just the fifth time in the 21st century.

Vasseur admits that he ‘underestimated’ the toll this would take on Ferrari staff last year as the team dropped into the upper midfield at some races. The gamble raised the stakes for 2026 – Ferrari had to be quick, otherwise they suffered for nothing.

• READ MORE: Ferrari face delicate internal situation after Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese GP duel with Charles Leclerc

Indeed, one report from Italy over the winter suggested Vasseur only had five races to save his job despite signing a new contract last year. Three races out from the deadline, the threat has already evaporated.

Clearly, Ferrari need to kick on from here, as second-row starts and third-place finishes will not be enough for Vasseur in the long term. But the crucial point is that the Scuderia have built a platform for success.

It should be remembered that in 2014, the last time the sport saw regulation changes of this scale, Ferrari only scored two podiums all year. It seems they have learned from those mistakes.

Lewis Hamilton’s patience with Fred Vasseur has been rewarded

Hamilton needs a fast car to look like himself – that much has become abundantly clear. He briefly had it at the start of the 2025 season in China when he won the Sprint.

One could argue that Vasseur’s decision to divert resources away from the SF-25 effectively wrecked Hamilton’s first season by denying him a truly competitive, fully-upgraded package.

Hamilton said Ferrari switched focus to 2026 ‘so early’ that his first campaign in red was much ‘less exciting’. He was left to make do with what he had for much of the year.

But equally, Vasseur has now given him the car he needs to mount a sustained resurgence. The Frenchman was instrumental in bringing Hamilton to Ferrari after they worked together in the junior categories.

Hamilton stood by his team boss last year when he came under extreme pressure, and it seems his unwavering faith was justified.