Lewis Hamilton answered directly when confronted with questions about the rumors involving Christian Horner and Ferrari. After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the British driver replied with a simple “yes” when asked whether he trusted the continuity of Fred Vasseur’s work at the helm of the Italian team.
Horner, the former head of Red Bull Racing, publicly stated that Ferrari would be the only position capable of persuading him to return to the sport, without taking an ownership stake. The Briton also described the possibility of leading the Maranello outfit as “the dream job,” fueling speculation about a potential shake-up at the top of the Scuderia.
Questioned by Sky Sports F1 about Ferrari’s scenario and his confidence in the path the team is taking under Vasseur’s leadership, Hamilton answered succinctly: “Yes.” Then, when asked whether there was unity within the team, the seven-time F1 champion agreed once more, this time with another “Yes,” accompanied by a nod.
Hamilton was also asked what Ferrari could do in the remaining races of the season. After glancing to the side, he simply replied: “Keep trying.”
These fairly short responses from Hamilton came after yet another tough race for Ferrari in Baku. Charles Leclerc dropped from second to fourth, while Hamilton finished sixth, exactly where he had started.
The Briton conceded that he faced difficulties for almost the entire race: “It was a very poor race from my perspective, I really didn’t make progress. I couldn’t keep up with the guys ahead and was struggling to fend off those behind. I was lacking pace today,” he said.
Hamilton also explained that the tires were one of the main obstacles during the race. According to him, the compounds took a while to come to life in the opening stretch, and after the change, they again failed to display the expected behavior, leaving him sliding for the remainder of the race. The result kept the British driver in third in the standings, 103 points behind Kimi Antonelli and 37 behind George Russell, both Mercedes drivers.
