Fred Vasseur has spoken for the first time about his talks with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton that led him to join Ferrari.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has called time on his illustrio🌳us 12-season stint at Mercedes in order to complete a blockbuster switch to rivals Ferrari♐ from 2025.

The move shocked the F1 world when it was announced back in February and is arguably the biggest driver tran💃sfer in the history of the world championship.

Speaking at Ferrari’s annual end-of-s🉐eason Christmas lunch with the media, team principal Vasseur said it was “not difficult at all” to convince Hamilton to join the team.

"In 2023 we won more races than Mercedes so it was not difficult ⭕to convince him Ferrari would be a good project," Vasseur explained.

"He had the project to drive for Ferrarﷺi in his mind for at least 22 or 23 years because we were discussing this in 2004. It meant that i𝕴t was not too difficult.

"Sometimes it is also a matter of coincidence or to align all the planets, that he is on the market, that Ferra🍨ri have a seat available and so on.

“The contact was an easy one. We started to discuss one year a⛦go and it was not difficult to convince him, at all.”

Vasseur was ‘never worried’ by Hamilton’s form

Hamilton endured a disappointing final year at Merce📖des, with the 39-year-old comprehensively beaten by younger tea♉mmate George Russell in qualifying across the campaign.

Those one-lap struggles led Hamilton, the all-time record holder for pole positions in F1 with ꦇཧ104, to concede at the penultimate round of the season in Qatar that he is “definitely not fast any more”.

Russell also ended the year 22 points ahead in the drivers’ c𓆏hampionship as Hamilton took P7 in the standings - marking his lowest-ever finish in his grand prix career to date.

However, Hamilton bowed out of Mercedes with a brilliant recover⭕y drive from 16th on the grid to take fourth in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, including pulling off a last-lap overtake on Russell after overturning a 14-sec🌜ond gap.

Vasseur insists he was “never, n♏ꦯever, never worried” about Hamilton’s recent form.

"I think he had a tough moment in qualy,๊ but also I don't think that the qualy of Abu Dhabi, for example, was linked to the perf🐭ormance of Lewis,” he said.

"He had very good races in Vegas and in Abu Dh♛abi. And I was never -♌ really, never, never, never - worried about this situation.

“This situation, and I don't criticise Lewis or Mercedes, but t🔯his situation is not easy to manage. And I can understand that if it's not going very well, you can suffer in this relationship.

"He was not very well in his mind, but he was clear in Brazil about this, for example. But he also did very well in the last couple of event🌠s, so I'm not worried at all."

Hamilton will partner 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, having replaced the Williams-bound 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Carlos Sainz. 

"Charles, Lewis, I am not particularly worried🐟 about this," Vasseur said. "They have a huge mutual respect, they know each other, they have been talking about this for months now.

"It is much better to fight for first and third𝔉 or second and third than to fight for 19th and 20th. It is a good issue for a team to have this kind of discussion and approach and I am really convinced again that the performance of the team is coming from the emulation between🍎 the two."