Lewis Hamilton thanks Fred Vasseur for giving him what he was ‘begging’ for at Ferrari

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Lewis Hamilton has paid tribute to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur after scoring another podium at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton failed to score a single Grand Prix podium in his first year at Ferrari, but has now bagged three in the first six races of the 2026 season.

He built on his runner-up finish at the Canadian GP with another in Monaco, a result that promotes him to second in the world championship behind Kimi Antonelli.

Lewis Hamilton is up to second in the drivers’ standings after the Monaco GP! Where will George Russell finish this year?

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Lewis Hamilton hails Fred Vasseur for ‘pulling through’ at Ferrari

Hamilton’s relationship with Vasseur, which dates back to the junior categories, was instrumental in the British driver joining Ferrari.

Vasseur had to face difficult questions about his superstar signing last year, but Hamilton is grateful for his ‘awesome’ support.

He also revealed in Sunday’s post-race press conference that he had to ‘beg’ Vasseur for ‘certain changes’ during a miserable 2025, and the Frenchman gave his approval. Hamilton wants to chase down Antonelli and believes it’s possible with at least 16 races to go.

“I mean, [a first win] couldn’t be closer, but it’s still 66 points,” he said. “I can’t believe that I’m second in the championship and I’m really happy and thankful for that.

“I couldn’t have done that without this team, without the reliability that we have, and also with Fred. Fred has been awesome in supporting me.

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“I think last year was really tough for both of us and [I was] begging him for certain changes, and he pulled through and he did those, and now I’m seeing the fruits of that and I’m able to finally deliver for them.

“I think it’s still very early days in the season, so we just have to keep chasing. It’s actually easier to chase than it is to defend, I would say, in life.

“And so, whilst these guys are very quick and they’re an amazing team, we’re going to keep pushing, keep chasing, and I have no doubt at some stage we’re going to get there.”

Ferrari assigned Hamilton a new engineer ahead of the 2026 season, with Carlo Santi taking over from Riccardo Adami. The team also recruited Cedric Grosjean from McLaren.

While the initial plan was for Santi to be an interim appointment before Grosjean took over, Hamilton wants to keep his engineering team the same.

Hamilton also had an input into Ferrari’s design choices for the SF-26, which Vasseur sees as a crucial factor in his turnaround.

Last year, the seven-time world champion said he had conducted a thorough audit of Ferrari’s operation on and off the track and sent the team documents of feedback.