Some Ferrari staff are losing faith in Maranello chief who gave Lewis Hamilton ‘hope’ for the future

Follow us on Google Discover

Ferrari can spend the next six weekends preparing for the 2026 Formula 1 season as much as they would like to.

With second in the constructors’ championship looking unlikely, as Mercedes continue to perform well, it’s hard to see what else they have left to fight for. They must ensure that they’re in the best possible shape heading into the 2026 F1 regulations.

There was a lot of anticipation around what Ferrari might be able to achieve after making a marquee signing like Lewis Hamilton. Unfortunately, they have failed to live up to expectations and could be about to go winless for the third time in the last six Formula 1 seasons.

Ferrari used a new excuse in Singapore and blamed their poor qualifying performance for a bad result in Sunday’s race. Charles Leclerc says Hamilton’s situation was ‘very difficult’ after suffering a late brake failure, which may not have been helped by an aggressive strategy.

READ MORE: F1 fans are all saying the same thing after Lewis Hamilton handed ‘crazy’ Singapore Grand Prix penalty

Ferrari staff are losing faith in Fred Vasseur who gave Lewis Hamilton ‘hope’

Hamilton could walk away from F1 in 2026 if he isn’t satisfied with the trajectory of his current team and no longer sees a way to achieve a record-breaking eighth world title. He isn’t going to hang around forever, and nor will teammate Leclerc, for that matter.

Even team boss Fred Vasseur clashed with an engineer after changes to the team’s internal management. Not everyone agrees with some of the adjustments he has made, and if team members are losing faith in him, it’s not a good sign for the man Lawrence Barretto calls Hamilton’s last ‘hope’.

“I think there is still one glimmer of hope that Lewis will hold on to, and it’s that relationship that he’s got with Fred [Vasseur],” he said. “I think he’s a big reason why, when he came, he thought that Fred could turn it round, and I think Fred has done a good job changing the culture there.

“But it won’t work if they don’t have a car in which they can develop. They made so many changes to that car over the course of last winter, despite that car almost winning the constructors’ championship.

“I’m interested to see whether or not they’ve learned those lessons, when they’ve applied them to obviously a new regulation change. They’re going to have to change the car, but just the way they go about developing the car. If they’ve learned those lessons, then maybe it’ll be different next year.”

READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli reveals the advice ‘really cool’ Lewis Hamilton has been giving him just before F1 races

Why does Lewis Hamilton have a good relationship with Fred Vasseur?

Vasseur was surprised by Ferrari fans and how they reacted to him at his first race for Ferrari at Monza. They had a difficult weekend, but it didn’t stop the Tifosi from backing their driver, who they know has plenty of talent.

The Briton has known Vasseur for over 20 years, dating back to time spent together in GP3 and GP2. That was when the Frenchman was involved with the ART Grand Prix team.

Ever since, they have got along well. Their relationship will have been part of the reason why Hamilton opted to make the switch from Mercedes in the winter.

Pressure is mounting on their partnership, and it’s hard to see it surviving beyond 2026, unless they can score some significant results. It’s approaching now or never territory at Ferrari.