Ferrari boss places “trust” at the center of fragile relations between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have endured a shaky 2025 campaign so far, but Ferrari supremo Fred Vasseur has confidently placed both drivers at the center of their relationship. The scarlet duo have very different histories with the team, and Vasseur was able to guide the pair in his own way to stay aboard the Prancing Horses.

Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019 and has driven under two different managements, once with Mattia Binotto as team principal and now with Vasseur, who has been at the helm of the team since 2023. On the other hand, Hamilton is the latest addition to the list of drivers who have driven for the elusive Scuderia.

Although both men have enjoyed varying degrees of success during their racing careers, their 2025 campaign was not what they hoped for. Leclerc failed to reach the top step of the podium, while Hamilton is yet to reach the rostrum in the Grand Prix format.

Plus, weekends like the Azerbaijan GP, ​​where the duo finished eighth and ninth, and the Singapore GP, where Leclerc finished sixth and the Briton limped home with a brake failure. This could have detrimental consequences for the Ferrari duo and their confidence in the team.

But Vasseur says both men have full confidence in the team despite sub-optimal results. Reflecting on his relationship with Leclerc, he said in an interview with Athletics:

“Sometimes we haven’t started talking, but I know exactly what he’s thinking. And I think the opposite is true too! We have complete trust. I know that sometimes when he’s tough on the team, it’s always to help. This feeling is constructive, it goes in the right direction to try to build something.”

A similar trend continued as he gave his thoughts on the relationship with Lewis Hamilton:

“I would say that in Barcelona (at the end of May) he came back strong. He is improving in the team composition. The team is improving in the composition of Lewis. So we have to make a kind of ‘mayonnaise’ now! We have to improve step by step. I know that I can trust him and he knows that he can trust me, and that is important. He knows that I will be completely dedicated to the performance of the team.

On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton has not finished a race in the top five since the British GP.

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Lewis Hamilton prepares for the United States Grand Prix as Ferrari takes part in the fourth sprint race of the season

Lewis Hamilton was set to challenge for a top-five finish at the Singapore GP until his brakes failed. To further add salt to the injury, he received a five-second penalty after the race, which dropped him from P7 to P8.

So, with a scorching weekend behind him, the Brit is looking to maximize his weekend in Texas, as he said (via The official F1 website):

“So the focus now is on maximizing what we have in Austin and executing cleanly to bring home as many points as possible.”

Hamilton has amassed 125 points in the 2025 season so far and sits sixth in the drivers’ standings.