This week Formula 1 fans had their eyes on one common headline with hearsay that Lewis Hamilton was offered £40 million by Scuderia Ferrari. When asked about it, team principal Fred Vasseur insistently claimed that the iconic Italian team had no such discussions with the seven-time world champion.
Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari
Vasseur and Hamilton are no strangers to each other as they have worked together when Hamilton was in Formula 3 and GP2. The two have remained in close contact ever since.
Images of the Frenchman and the Mercedes driver talking around the paddock only added fuel to the rumours, to which Vasseur said “The last 20 years, I discussed almost every single weekend with Hamilton. I don’t want to have to stop to discuss with him because you’re chasing me!”
His irritation with the news and the pressure from the press was hard to miss.
Photo credit: F1
The Frenchman was then asked whether he would want to see Lewis Hamilton in his team.
“I think every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage, it would be bullshit to not say something like this,” he replied but firmly added that they did not have any discussions for a Ferrari seat.
Several sources from UK and Italy mentioned two possible scenarios about the offer that was allegedly given to Hamilton. The first was that the British driver would be partnered with Charles Leclerc, leaving Carlos Sainz without a seat.
A second scenario that got talked about a lot was a swap between Hamilton and Leclerc. This would mean that Lewis Hamilton would drive in Ferrari with the Spaniard as his teammate, while Leclerc would drive for Mercedes alongside George Russell.
Vasseur rubbished these possibilities.
“You know perfectly that at this stage of the season, you will have each week a different story. And we are not sending an offer to Lewis Hamilton. We didn’t do it.”
The Ferrari boss was then asked whether he reassured Leclerc and Sainz about the rumours. “They didn’t have to reassure me last week when you sent them to Sauber, or for Charles to Mercedes!” joked the Frenchman.
“They didn’t come to see me and say ‘Fred, don’t worry, it’s not true.’ We are used to it, and we know that each week we will have a new rumour, and we are just focused on the job.”
Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari
Both drivers in Ferrari have their contracts with the world-famous team until at least the end of 2024. The team seems in no hurry to extend the current contracts, which leaves space for gossip about different replacements. Vasseur was quick to dispel these speculations as well.
“The most important thing for us is to stay focused on the development and the current season. In a couple of months, we’ll have the discussion about the future, and it will be time to discuss.”
“I didn’t want to discuss with them the extension, and I didn’t change. I told my position, that the most important thing is to try to do a step forward to be able to compete with Red Bull and let’s stay focussed on this.”
