Team Principal Fred Vasseur opened up about Lewis Hamilton’s contribution, his role in the Brit’s turnaround, how their long-awaited win made him feel, his approach to the upcoming round, and the seven-time World Champion’s attitude following Ferrari’s first victory of the 2026 F1 season at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP on Sunday.
Hamilton managed to set the second-fastest time in a pretty tight qualifying session, finding himself only 0.064 seconds behind polesitter George Russell.
The 41-year-old started the 66-lap race on a set of used soft tyres. With the substantial upgrade package that Ferrari brought to Barcelona bearing fruit immediately and the Virtual Safety Car on Lap 41 aiding him a little bit with his final pit stop, he superbly executed an aggressive three-stop strategy of S-H-M-H to finally break Mercedes’s win streak and claim his first win in red.
Vasseur acknowledges the contribution of the entire team after 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP win
Speaking in a print media session after the F1 race, Fred Vasseur shed more light on Hamilton’s contribution to Ferrari taking a commanding victory at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP.
While he acknowledged the clear step forward they have taken since the sixth round of the campaign in Monaco, the Frenchman maintained that the commitment of the entire team to bringing the Italian marque back to the top has remained the same.
Emphasising the need to stay grounded, Vasseur also commented on how Ferrari’s bond with Hamilton grows stronger every day and that executing the smaller details well in a tight qualifying had facilitated their solid starting position on Sunday.
“Yeah, but nothing changed today compared to last week. The result is different; the outcome of the race is different. The commitment of the guys in the garage, Maranello, from Lewis [Hamilton], from Charles [Leclerc], didn’t change compared to last week.
“We have to stay calm with this. It’s not that today everything is magic and last week it was not. I think we are into the collaboration, we are improving, we know each other, at least Ferrari, Lewis, we know each other a bit more each day.
“And it’s all a matter of details at the end of the day, for I think one tenth yesterday in Q2, we had six or seven cars. It means that sometimes small details can make a huge difference in terms of position.”
Ferrari’s approach in Austria will stay the same
Highlighting the impact of dirty air and how track position had played a crucial role in Sunday’s Barcelona-Catalunya GP, Fred Vasseur hailed Hamilton’s first Grand Prix win in red as a massive reward for the entire squad.
At the same time, the Ferrari Team Principal remarked that they cannot risk becoming complacent and that they would tackle the next race weekend in Austria with a similar approach.
“And you saw today that track position is very important. As soon as you are not in clean air you are struggling.
“I’m taking it as a mega good result, mega positive result, good reward for everybody, for Lewis, for the team in Maranello, for the team on track.
“But it’s not that the situation is completely different compared to last week, and we’ll have to start exactly with the same approach in Austria than what we had on Friday.”
Vasseur unwilling to take credit for Hamilton’s resurgence in 2026
With regard to Hamilton’s challenging 2025 F1 campaign and how he had lifted his spirits last year, Fred Vasseur refused to take credit for the seven-time World Champion’s fantastic turnaround in 2026 that saw him secure his maiden win for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP on Sunday.
Revealing how Hamilton was always able to reset after a difficult weekend last season and make an appearance at the factory in Maranello on Tuesday, Vasseur stated that this level of commitment served as a big source of motivation for the whole team.
“I have zero merit on this; it’s more Lewis himself.
“I think he was able to come back after a tough moment, tough journey, tough weekends, he was able to come back to do a full reset and to continue to push, to continue to come at the factory on the Tuesday morning.
“This commitment is a huge support coming from a World Champion, it’s even more I would say. It was also a huge motivation for everybody at the factory.”
Vasseur on what Hamilton’s 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP triumph means to Ferrari
In terms of Ferrari standing on the top step of the podium for the first time since October 2024 and what it meant to bring home this long-awaited victory with Hamilton, Fred Vasseur proclaimed once again that their 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP success had brought an immense feeling of satisfaction.
Disclosing how they would celebrate back at the factory, the 58-year-old added that their 249th overall win in F1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya symbolised the fruits of the labour of 1,500 talented individuals.
Furthermore, Vasseur emphasised how difficult it is to keep the morale of the team intact when their hard work doesn’t translate into strong results on the track and criticism is levelled at them. Henceforth, he reiterated that Sunday’s outcome is the perfect reward for the effort the Maranello-based squad have put into the project.
“Internally for me it’s a mega good feeling, and we will celebrate at the factory because I think it’s the reward of the job of 1,500 people that are pushing very hard.
“When you are getting bad comments and we are pushing very hard, sometimes it’s tough at the factory that people are pushing like hell and they are not doing a better job when we are P1 than when we are P3 and the guy who is at the production is doing his best.
“For sure the result of today is the best reward that we can send to the factory and to the guys in the track and we have to take it like this.”
What Vasseur’s goals are for the upcoming round
While he urged the team to revel in their well-deserved victory at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, Fred Vasseur also detailed what his objectives are for the upcoming round at the Red Bull Ring.
Commenting yet again that his approach to the upcoming race weekend wouldn’t undergo any changes, the Frenchman explained that he would continue to focus on the smaller details and that the team would gradually bring performance gains in every area to further unlock the SF-26 potential.
“Now I won’t change the approach for the next one. I will try to continue to chase details and to bring performance everywhere and to do small step by small step.
“Let’s enjoy on this one that we have to because it’s a particularity of the job. Let’s celebrate this one, let’s enjoy, and we will be back next week in Austria with the same approach.”
Hamilton’s resilience and the overall contribution of both drivers
In reference to his long-standing relationship with Hamilton and what the 106-time F1 race winner means to him as a human being, Fred Vasseur highlighted his resilient attitude.
Drawing attention to his difficult final season with Mercedes and the many challenging race weekends he endured last year after embarking on his maiden campaign with Ferrari, the 58-year-old revealed how Hamilton had initially struggled to communicate and build his relationship with the team.
However, Vasseur also pointed out how the Brit was unwavering in his commitment to the project and that their 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP triumph was partially the outcome of the Stevenage native continuing to motivate the team in Tuesday’s debriefs after each race weekend.
“It’s a lot about resilience because I think he had to face tough moments but last season at Mercedes was not an easy one.
“The beginning with us was not always easy. Tough moment at Spa, Budapest last year where he was a bit down and struggling to build up the relationship with the team or to understand each other.
“But he was able to keep the same energy into the project to continue to push each Tuesday at the factory and this is clearly part of the result.”
Although Charles Leclerc has encountered DNFs in back-to-back rounds, Vasseur affirmed how both drivers have played key roles in the team working out their shortcomings and bringing Ferrari back to the top step of the podium.
“The fact that the two drivers are fully committed, supportive with us in any situation [is great]. We can have discussions when we are doing mistakes, we have discussions between us but the fact that they are fully behind us and pushing us is key.”
