Lewis Hamilton questions Ferrari structure amid backing of Fred Vasseur

After a tumultuous season for Ferrari, the outfit stood up on the last weekend of September to calm the nerves of not only its followers, but also its hard-working employees. Chief communication officer Maria Conti told reporters the team has "confidence - full confidence - in Fred Vasseur and in his team, and we continue to do so." Unsurprisingly, Lewis Hamilton has now answered questions on his confidence in the team's leadership at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

2026 has been a difficult year for the Scuderia. An underpowered power unit has allowed the Mercedes team to slip up the constructors' standings, with it now leading by 160 points. And to make matters worse, its seven-time champion Hamilton no longer sits second in the drivers' standings. Fans of the team have questioned the rules of engagement between the drivers that arguably led to this drop, with Vasseur taking the brunt of it.

But both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc maintain their confidence in the Frenchman, with former instead bringing focus to those sat above Vasseur in the Ferrari hierarchy.

With 12 years of experience racing for the Mercedes team under the gaze of Toto Wolff, he was asked how important a strong management structure can be to an outfit fighting for a title.

"Well structure I think is very important and definitely stability and ultimately having everyone row in the same direction. I think that's key, probably in any business," he said.

Asked directly whether everyone around and above Vasseur is pulling in the same direction, Hamilton didn't hesitate to defend his long-term colleague and friend: "I think Fred has the full backing," he confirmed. But pushed further on whether Ferrari's structure actually supports that, he added: "Fred is a fantastic leader. He really is about to take this team in the right direction.

"However, there is a structure that's been there for some time, whether or not that needs looking at moving forwards. There are obviously also people above Fred," he said, putting focus on higher levels of management within the brand. "And it's not about one person. Fred has led the team - he's helped make changes in this past year. He's helped us get to second in the constructors' championship. That's a huge step from last year.

"The deficit we have is simply just on engine and that's something we're not we don't shy away from. We know that every weekend we carry a full tenth deficit, if not sometimes six tenths just in straightline power. And we're aware of it and it's something we need to try to work on and maybe they're working extremely hard to try and fix that for next year.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Alex Pantling / LAT Images via Getty Images

"But then everybody else is working so hard within the team back in the factory and here at the track ... for me it's frustrating to see all the negativity because you see other people making mistakes and they don't... No one really says too much about them. And we either make the same mistake or I'm not perfect and you know we're not... And it's ten times worse for some reason for Ferrari, but that's also to be expected given that it's the best brand there is, the most iconic by far."

Ferrari's ADUO 2 engine upgrade didn't seem to quell the worries surrounding its straightline speed in Azerbaijan. But Hamilton's focus instead resides on wanting the team to be shielded from the endless headlines revolving around it.

"For me I don't really read the sites, so yeah, zero effect on me. But of course when I come into the room and see, it definitely affects individuals in the team because every weekend they try and show up and do the best job they can and don't get it right all the time.

"And when your families are messaging you with the all the negative things that they're reading when the people back in the factory are reading all those things. It's almost like sometimes you feel there's nothing you can do right even when you're giving your all. So I just thought for me, the message is to not read any the stuff that's been written because the fact is nobody that's writing any of this stuff has actually any clue what they're talking about because they're not in the team.

"They don't know what's happening behind closed doors. They don't know how hard everybody is working. It's all done through assumptions and opinions. So that's just me, it's frustrating to see and what we're going to do is just continue to try and focus on doing the best job we can regardless of what's written.

"We will get to where we want to be. I knew it wasn't going to be the second year we were going to be where we want to be. But I'm hoping and praying with the hard work of everybody, maybe next year we can get to where we want to be and where we deserve."

The seven-time champion declined to comment on the changes he would make to Ferrari's management, but confirmed that "there are changes that I would make."

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- The Motorsport.com Team