Frederic Vasseur insists it is far too early for Ferrari to already be planning for life without Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time Formula 1 champion officially becomes a Ferrari driver this week and will race for his new outfit for the first time at March's Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton will have turned 40 by that point and is in the twilight of his racing career.
Nevertheless, the contract he signed with the Scuderia was for multiple seasons. And team principal Vasseur says he currently has no interested in spending any time thinking about who will one day take over the Brit's seat. "For next year we are aiming for the world championship, and of course we are also focused on the technical revolution of 2026," he told Corriere dello Sport. "Only then will we start to think about the drivers of the future.".
Vasseur was speaking as part of an annual Christmas lunch event with F1 journalists in Italy. Though Hamilton has yet to even begin his stint with Ferrari, the vast majority of the questions posed to the Frenchman were all about their new megastar. Among other things, Vasseur confirmed that Hamilton will start his intensive testing period "at the beginning of January" in order to help the Brit get up to speed with Ferrari machinery, and made it clear no other Mercedes staff will be following him to Italy as: "We have no intention of replicating Mercedes inside Ferrari.".
