Lewis Hamilton slated reports criticising Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur following the team’s decline in form since last year.
Ferrari have gone win-less over the first nine grands prix of this season, having won two of the last six rounds the previous year. Vasseur, who is in his third year in charge of the team, was the subject of critical articles following the last round.
Hamilton gave Vasseur his full support, saying he is the reason he joined Ferrari at the beginning of the year.
“I was just made aware of it before I got here, so I’ve not read the stories,” he said on Thursday in Canada. “It’s definitely not nice to hear that there are stories like that out there.
“Firstly, I love working with Fred. Fred’s the main reason I’m in this team and I got the opportunity to be here, for which I’m forever grateful. We’re in this together and we’re working hard in the background.
“Things aren’t perfect. But as I said, I’m here to work with the team and with Fred. I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top, and so that’s that.”
He admitted the team has been disappointed with its start to the season but said the idea they might replace Vasseur is “nonsense.”
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“Most people don’t know what’s going on in the background,” he said. “It isn’t all easy, it’s not the smoothest sailing. We are having to make changes and there’s a lot of work to do.
“Naturally there’s a lot of pressure because we want to win, but that’s not any part of the discussion at the moment.”
Hamilton also rejected claims he is planning to retire from F1. “To everyone writing stories of me considering not racing – I literally only just started here with Ferrari,” he said.
“I’m here for several years and I’m here for the long haul. There’s no question where my head’s at and what I’m working towards achieving with this team. So, there’s zero doubts. Please stop making stuff up.”
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