Lewis Hamilton and ‘everyone’ at Ferrari keep saying the one thing Fred Vasseur doesn’t want to hear

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Fred Vasseur has embraced a more open approach at Ferrari in 2026 that has now put Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the battle to potentially win the F1 drivers’ title.

The Scuderia go to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend for the Belgian Grand Prix on a high, after Hamilton and Leclerc won two of the past three races between them. Hamilton is even now only 32 points behind Mercedes rival Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the top of the standings.

Leclerc in fourth place is also 71 points behind after winning at Silverstone. But the title and the idea of Hamilton or Leclerc ending Ferrari’s wait to win a record-extending 16th drivers’ championship is the one thing that team principal Vasseur claims he does not want to hear.

Charles Leclerc has never won more than three Grands Prix in a season 🏆 Predict how many he will take in 2026?

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‘Everyone’ at Ferrari is talking about the 2026 F1 drivers’ title despite Fred Vasseur’s claims

In fact, it is even being reported that Vasseur has banned talk of the F1 title at Ferrari, given the Frenchman stated, “Are you deaf? I said we don’t use that word,” amid questions about the championship on the back of Leclerc winning the British Grand Prix with Hamilton in P3.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix, plus the weather forecast for Spa

But renowned journalist Giuseppe ‘Pino’ Allievi believes it is “completely false” to think that Ferrari are not thinking about Hamilton or Leclerc possibly bringing the drivers’ title back to Maranello for the first time since Kimi Raikkonen won the championship with them in 2007.

“I immediately contradict Vasseur,” Allievi told Formula Passion. “At Ferrari, they only talk about the world championship. That is, Ferrari are not only interested in winning more Grands Prix.

“Ferrari haven’t won a title for ages, 18 to 20 years, so they just need to win the world championship. They waited too long. They hired Vasseur to take Ferrari to the world championship.

“They’re at a good point, but it’s completely false to say that Ferrari are not thinking about the title. Everyone thinks about it. Hamilton thinks about it. Leclerc thinks about it. Vasseur thinks about it. Everyone else thinks about it, from the first to the last employee.

“So, I do not understand why they always blame the press with lies that are actually half-accusations. It’s like saying, ‘Ah, the press sets us targets, puts pressure on us’. But it’s a miserable thing. Ferrari should not do this. Ferrari race to win the world championship, not to win a Grand Prix. Let’s get this straight, then we can move on.”

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Hamilton and Leclerc are reaping the rewards from Vasseur encouraging more risk-taking at Ferrari today, as he was “shocked” by their engineers’ caution when he took charge in 2022. Gone are those days, as Vasseur now wants Ferrari to push the limits with their innovations.

Ferrari’s radical designs for the SF-26 this season, like the Macarena rear wing and the Flick Tail Mode (FTM) blown exhaust flap, are direct results of Vasseur’s aggressive vision. The concepts are also reasons why the 2026 F1 drivers’ title is the talk of the town in Maranello.

So, Vasseur’s desire to push back on any questions about the championship may just be the 58-year-old trying to take the pressure off Ferrari, and instead keep Mercedes duo Antonelli and George Russell in the spotlight, even if he actually thinks Hamilton or Leclerc can win it.