Ferrari’s idea behind announcing their signing of Lewis Hamilton for 2025 was to get their driver lineup sorted and focus on their 2024 season. However, after Carlos Sainz’s start to this season with a win and two podiums, many are questioning the Italian team’s decision to replace the Spaniard. Sainz has a 100% podium record so far in 2024, making his best-ever start to an F1 season. However, the impact of these performances is Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur getting the question of whether it was the right call to let Sainz go.
So when asked, “In an alternative reality where you hadn’t already signed Lewis for 2025,” after the race in Suzuka, the Ferrari boss shut down the question with a scathing reply. He said, as quoted by @fuori.pista on Instagram, “We have the same question every week. Do a copy-paste of my last week’s reply, the next time.”
On the flip side, Lewis Hamilton is still struggling with yet another shoddy Mercedes challenger. In the first four races, he has scored only 10 points. With the highest finish of only P7 so far, Hamilton classified 2024 as his worst start to a season. The Briton’s struggles and his mental state are reflected in the fact that he let George Russell pass him in the race in Suzuka!
The 2024 season is definitely not going according to the script. The script that sees Hamilton end his Mercedes tenure on a high. Instead, it’s Sainz moving in that direction and putting Vasseur on the spot.
Vasseur certainly would want to avoid such questions going forward in the season. However, it wasn’t just the Frenchman who had such an adverse reaction to this line of questioning.
Lewis Hamilton storms off from the interview after being questioned about Ferrari
After qualifying seventh, Lewis Hamilton went backward and finished ninth in the Japanese GP. The race result surely added to his ongoing frustrations from the disappointing season so far. So after the race, the Mercedes man got questions that only exacerbated his annoyance.
A series of setbacks in the race including Max Verstappen’s third win of the season in four races added to Hamilton’s irritation. The Japanese GP was another race highlighting the W15’s performance gap from Red Bull. So when an interviewer asked if the Brit is envious of Ferrari [being relatively closer to Red Bull], he uncharacteristically expressed his rage.
As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Hamilton shushed the reporter by saying, “Do you have any better questions?”. Soon after the question, the 7x champion decided to end the interview prematurely and walk away. His press officer was left to conclude the presser on his behalf. The response and his actions highlight how infuriated this line of questioning is making the Brit.
Although, the issues of the Mercedes W15 are also contributing to the #44 driver’s irritation. Neither the car nor the performances are in Hamilton’s favor as he can’t seem to end his ongoing nightmare that started in 2022. However, there are still 20 races to go and we might just see a turnaround.
