“He Won 18/21 Races”: Fred Vasseur Reminisces Old Glory Days With Lewis Hamilton

Since making his debut, Lewis Hamilton has gone on to establish himself as one of the best drivers in F1 history, with seven world titles. He won six of those seven world titles with Mercedes, and after 11 years, he announced that he will be joining Ferrari from the 2025 season onwards. An iconic driver move in its own right, this also gives Hamilton a chance to cross paths with his old mentor, Fred Vasseur once again. Vasseur, who is Ferrari’s team principal, was also Hamilton’s boss back in his F3 and GP2 days days.

Even in his junior open-wheel career, Hamilton was a class apart from the field. While reminiscing about Hamilton’s 2005 F3 campaign, the Frenchman narrated, as quoted on X (formerly Twitter)

“His first year in Formula 3 he won 18/21 races, but beyond that I think it’s the high level of how demanding he is of himself and of those who work with him. I think it’s a characteristic of champions.” 

According to Hamilton’s biography authored by Frank Worrall, the Stevenage-born driver wrapped up the F3 title in 2005 with 4 races to go which prompted them to pay a personal tribute to him. They labelled him as the best ever driver in the series. After the season concluded, Autosport Magazine featured him in their “Top 50 Drivers of 2005“ issue, ranking him in 24th.

Hamilton extended his exploits into GP2 as well. Still being mentored by Vasseur, he won won the GP2 title (equivalent to today’s F2 championship) in his rookie season. Naturally, since then, the Briton has looked up to Vasseur. In 2025, the two of them will finally be reunited.

What prompted the Lewis Hamilton Ferrari move?

When reports and rumors were starting to trickle in that Hamilton was actually leaving Mercedes for Ferrari, many thought the news was fake. However, in a short span of time, F1, Mercedes, and Ferrari confirmed the reports. This sent the entire F1 world into a frenzy. Many even regarded it as the greatest driver transfer of all time.

Neither Mercedes nor Hamilton have divulged the real reason for their split. So, one can only take an educated guess. After suffering two winless seasons with the Silver Arrows, the mere idea of winning his 8th title with Ferrari could have been irresistible for Hamilton. Moreover, this was been probably the last chance for the 39-year-old to drive for Ferrari given he had already expressed that it was his dream to do so.

That being said, his affinity towards Vasseur could have convinced him to join Ferrari. Nonetheless, Vasseur and Hamilton still have a season to go before they can rekindle their once successful alliance.

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• ferrari
• Fred Vasseur
• Lewis Hamilton