P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has revealed it wasn’t “difficult” to convince Lewis Hamilton to agree to a switch as racing in red in F1 had “been in his thoughts”.
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari in 2025 came as a surprise in February, despite his recent contract extension with Mercedes. The move to Ferrari was influenced by Hamilton’s desire to fulfill his childhood dream of racing with the iconic team alongside Charles Leclerc. Despite his emotional attachment to Mercedes, convincing Hamilton to switch teams was straightforward for Ferrari team principal Vasseur. Hamilton was motivated by the challenge of helping Ferrari return to their former glory and was excited about working with Vasseur, someone he had successful partnerships with in the past. Toto Wolff, team principal of Mercedes, acknowledged that Hamilton’s move to Ferrari could ultimately benefit Mercedes in the long run.
