Fred Vasseur/Ferrari after Hamilton victory: "We have to avoid this trap"

During the difficult, winless Ferrari 2025 season, team boss Fred Vasseur had to listen to a lot: He was the one who had hired Lewis Hamilton, for a tree-thick pile of money, and the Englishman was mostly blasted by Charles Leclerc. Was Hamilton past the expiry date of the great champion?

Since Barcelona 2026, everything has been a little different: Lewis Hamilton drove the competition into the ground at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, first Ferrari victory since Mexico 2024 (with Carlos Sainz), first victory for Hamilton since Belgium 2024, but this first place was a gift because his then Mercedes team-mate George Russell had to be taken out of the classification because his car was too light. First outright victory for Hamilton since Silverstone 2024.

First win for Ferrari in Barcelona since 2013, and the satisfaction is written all over team boss Fred Vasseur's face: "A great day for the team, for Lewis and for everyone at the factory. We must always remember that they work like crazy and this is the only right way to thank them."

"It's also a very good way to kick off the European season. We took a fine second place in Monaco and we won here. We also showed that we had the pace to take pole yesterday."

And now what? What does this win change for Ferrari? Vasseur continues: "In the next races, we have to maintain the same good approach as today - in other words, maximum concentration on details. Our approach will change because we were able to take the win today. We always have to work as a team, on good days and even more so on difficult ones. And that's what we've done in recent months when we weren't as strong as we were today."

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The old Formula 1 rule of thumb is: a car that is good in Barcelona is also good at most other circuits. Fred Vasseur differentiates: "In the last 25 years, it has often been the case that the winner in Barcelona also had the best car over the whole season. However, I don't think that will be the case this year."

"Because in 2026, the performances will be determined by how the cars develop and I think the balance of power can change every two or three races. It's better to have a good car today than one that doesn't work, but it will be crucial for us to get more performance out of the car for the coming race weekends."

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said in the evening in Barcelona that Ferrari is now a real challenger for the title. Fred Vasseur smiles this away: "We are close, but that is exactly the trap we have to avoid. We can't talk about the title, we have to give the drivers the best possible car without any expectations. You have to focus on one race at a time."