Being the founder of a feeder series racing team that produced talents like Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, Frits van Amersfoort knows a thing or two about drivers’ emotional needs. Having worked closely with the Monegasque, he finds Ferrari to be lacking in building the team around him.
Things, however, might turn out differently for the newly-hired Lewis Hamilton. Van Amersfoort believes Hamilton is an emotional driver who requires his team to be on a similar wavelength. He arrived at that conclusion because of the seven-time champion’s extravagant fashion choices.
“Lewis will be in a warmer and more emotional bath at Ferrari. And since Lewis is a man who has to rely on emotion, which his extravagant way of dressing also testifies to, he and Ferrari might be a very good match,” F1 Maximaal quoted Van Amersfoort as saying.
Another factor Van Amersfoort expects to go in Hamilton’s favor is the presence of Fred Vasseur, who has been a long-time ally of the Briton. The duo earlier worked together on the same team in F2 and F3 where Vasseur was the team boss.
Fred Vasseur and Lewis Hamilton. (2006) pic.twitter.com/T0CvfNYeZE
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Van Amersfoort finds the Frenchman to be more relaxed than Hamilton’s previous boss Toto Wolff. “Although Wolff is not German, he does show some German traits,” Van Amersfoort said. “I know Frederic a bit better. He is a bit more relaxed and that might suit Lewis well.”
Van Amersfoort is unsure how close Leclerc and Vasseur are
Vasseur was Leclerc’s team boss when the Monegasque raced for Sauber. The Frenchman was mightly impressed by the talented young driver and praised him on multiple occasions.
That support carried over when the relationship was restored after Vasseur’s switch to Ferrari. Van Amersfoort, however, isn’t sure if they share the same bond as Helmut Marko and Verstappen.
“I don’t know what the relationship between Frederic and Charles is like. It probably isn’t that bad, but whether they are really close like Helmut Marko and Max, I don’t know,” he concluded. Whether the difference in emotional connect will translate into preference among drivers is a question that only time will answer.
However, one thing Ferrari and Vasseur can be confident about is the progress they made in the latter half of the 2024 season. The focus, therefore, must be on building on that momentum to bridge the gap to the championship in 2025.
