Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur knows he has the right ingredients but isn’t certain that Lewis Hamilton can cook up the perfect result in Jeddah this weekend. McLaren remain the ones to beat after Oscar Piastri’s stroll to success in Bahrain last Sunday.
Lando Norris was quickest in second practice on Friday with Piastri one place behind, while Charles Leclerc was fourth and Hamilton, who faces an investigation over a ‘dangerous’ move, didn’t trouble the top 10. Ferrari have brought more upgrades for their car but team principal Vasseur knows his team has to do something it has rarely done so far in 2025 – get the best out of it.
“The ingredients are all there, but now it’s like cooking and you have to put the ingredients together at the right stage,” the Frenchman said. “The field is very, very tight and each time that you do a mistake you can lose five, six positions and then the conclusion from the outside is that it’s a drama.
“We need to stay calm if we want to improve – it was one of the skills of the team last year to be able to capitalise and I hope that we’ll have the same path this year.”
The one time Ferrari nailed things this year was in their setup of Hamilton’s car for the sprint race in China last month. The Brit felt confident in his machine and steered it to pole position, which he converted into his first victory in red.
Other than that, though, his results have been forgettable, but Vasseur insists no-one at Ferrari expected immediate success from their seven-time champion new signing. He said: “I think you were all a bit enthusiastic on the Saturday evening in China, speaking about the [FIA end-of-season] prize-giving ceremony and so we have to calm down a little bit.
“Lewis is coming with his own experience, with 20 years of F1 with different teams, with almost 10 years at McLaren, 12 years at Mercedes. The very positive point is that we are working as a team, that the two drivers are pushing in the same direction.”
George Russell knows what Hamilton is capable of, even if the three years they spent together at Mercedes was not as successful as the period before. And the 27-year-old is backing his fellow Brit to find his “magic” again in the near future.
Russell said: “After Fernando [Alonso], he’s the most experienced driver on the grid. He’s a seven-time World champion and he’s an incredible person and racing driver. We saw it in China, second race of the season, on pole in the sprint, wins the race comfortably.
“I know what he’s capable of, and it’s not easy going into a new team and the competition is tough. But he’s an amazing driver and I’m sure, when things start to click, as they did in China, we’ll see more of that magic.”
Hamilton has 25 points to show for his efforts so far this season, heading into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend. That puts him seventh in the standings, two places and seven points behind team-mate Leclerc.
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