Jean Alesi slams Fred Vasseur’s ‘embarrassing’ excuse for Lewis Hamilton’s dire first Ferrari season

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton believes he is enduring the “worst season” of his 19-year F1 career in his first season with Ferrari, in what is also confirmed as the team’s worst since 2020.

The Scuderia are now guaranteed to end 2025 only fourth in the F1 constructors’ standings, having fallen short in their bid to rival Mercedes and Red Bull for second with a round to go. Charles Leclerc and Hamilton also cannot finish higher than fifth in the F1 drivers’ standings.

Ferrari will go into the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this Sunday trailing 2025 teams’ champions McLaren by 418 points, while Mercedes and Red Bull now lead the pride of Italy by 77 and 44 points. McLaren beat Ferrari to the title by 14 points in Abu Dhabi last season.

Leclerc also finished the 2024 season sitting third in the drivers’ standings, trailing Red Bull’s champion Max Verstappen by 81 points. He heads into the 2025 finale in P5 and 178 points from McLaren’s leader Lando Norris, and Hamilton in P6 trails his British compatriot by 256.

Jean Alesi slams Fred Vasseur’s ‘very weak excuse’ that Ferrari focusing on 2026 ruined 2025

Having also failed to get a single Grand Prix podium during the first 23 rounds, Hamilton has called 2025 his “worst season ever” in F1. The seven-time champion has never failed to take a rostrum before, and he will set his worst total under the points system introduced in 2010.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

Team principal Fred Vasseur suggested at the Qatar Grand Prix that Ferrari have struggled in 2025 as they shifted their development focus onto the 2026 F1 regulations back in April. Yet Jean Alesi thinks Vasseur offered a “very weak” excuse for the misery Ferrari have produced.

“Ferrari’s attitude makes me think of an embarrassing attempt to protect this failure,” Alesi told Corriere della Sera, via quotes by Fanpage. He added: “Saying that all development was interrupted to prepare for next year’s car seems like a very weak excuse.”

What did Fred Vasseur say about Ferrari stopping the development of their 2025 F1 car?

Vasseur admitted in Qatar that Ferrari stopped developing the SF-25 in April as they wanted to utilise their resources on the 2026 F1 regulations. He claims they made the decision after realising after the first few races just how much of an advantage McLaren held over Ferrari.

“We didn’t start in the best way,” Vasseur claimed, via quotes by Autosport. “There was the double disqualification in China, this cost us tons of points [18, with Leclerc stripped of P5 and Hamilton stripped of P6] compared to the direct competitors.

“And quite early in the season, McLaren were so dominant in the first four or five events that we realised it would be very difficult for 2025. It meant that we decided very early into the season, I think it was the end of April, to switch to 2026. It was a tough call.”

Vasseur’s decision to stop developing the SF-25 early meant Hamilton found his first year for Ferrari “less exciting”. The 40-year-old would have preferred to develop the SF-25 in tandem with designing their car for the 2026 rules, yet F1’s cost cap meant they prioritised the latter.

A lack of major updates beyond Ferrari’s unsuccessful rear suspension upgrade at Spa even saw Hamilton admit he is living a “nightmare” at Ferrari after he retired from the recent Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Hamilton has not finished higher than P4 in 10 of the past 11 Grands Prix.