Fred Vasseur has described the moment he informed Carlos Sainz that he would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025 as one of the “most difficult” conversations of his career.
Early February saw the announcement that Hamilton would be joining Ferrari next year on a multi-year contract, setting him up as Charles Leclerc’s teammate after Monegasque secured a new contract extension with the team.
Despite Ferrari’s concentration on the 2024 season, discussions about Hamilton’s arrival are unavoidable.
Sainz, who has been with the team since 2021, finds himself without a position. Although the start of the season hasn’t been easy for the Spanish driver, he has committed to giving his “best” performance for Ferrari in the upcoming year.
“We are fully focused on 2024, as you can imagine,” said Vasseur. “[But regarding] Lewis, it’s a huge opportunity for the team, for sure. We’re sure it will bring us a decent step for the future. It will be a good challenge for everybody.
“But we want to be focused on 2024, we don’t want to have any kind of distraction, and that’s why we made the announcement so early, because it was important for us to be focused on 2024.
“I’m fully convinced Carlos will be fully dedicated and fully committed until the last lap and the last corner of the season. I’m sure that all of the team will be fully motivated and fully behind Carlos, he did a great job for us so far.
“Now it’s important for us to be focused on 2024. We have a good opportunity. We’ve worked so hard on the project that I don’t want to have any kind of distraction.”
Vasseur recognizes that informing Sainz he would be losing his spot on the team was a challenging conversation.
“As you can imagine, it was not the easiest call of my life,” the Frenchman commented. “One of the most difficult, [along] with the one with Toto [Wolff]! But I’m fully convinced that he is a very professional driver, that he understands that we have a long season in front of us, [that it’s] a huge opportunity.
“In this situation [he has] the team behind him. We had a long discussion, as you can imagine, [and] I will be fully supportive with Carlos. He’s fully committed and we know that we are to do the job together. We are professional.”
When questioned about the fairness of the decision towards Sainz, Vasseur stated, “Unfair… I’m not sure that’s the correct term.”
“For the team, seizing the opportunity with Lewis is something that must be contemplated under any circumstances. He brings the most experience, and it’s a significant chance for us. This decision is not a reflection on Carlos.”
“Carlos did a great job last year, I’m sure that he will do a great job next year, that he is very professional, we have a good relationship. But it is like it is and we have to be focused on the future.”
