Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion said: “I’m here for several years and here for the long haul — there is no question where my head is at and what I’m working towards achieving with this team. So there’s zero doubts. Please stop making up stuff.”
Hamilton, 39, has endured a difficult start to the 2024 season with Ferrari, notably describing the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona last month as the “worst he had ever experienced”.
Ferrari’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, 53, revealed after the race both Hamilton and his teammate Charles Leclerc, 26, suffered mechanical issues, but he declined to disclose specifics.
The Italian outfit, which finished second to McLaren in last year’s Constructors’ Championship, currently trails the British team by 197 points after nine races, with championship hopes fading fast.
This decline has triggered widespread speculation over Vasseur’s future, with rumours of his potential exit intensifying following Barcelona.
Hamilton responded robustly to the reports, saying: “It’s definitely not nice to hear that there are stories like that that are out there.
“Firstly, I love working with Fred. Fred’s the main reason I’m in this team and got the opportunity to be here, which I’m forever grateful for.
“And we’re in this together. We’re working hard in the background. Ultimately, it’s nonsense what people have written. Most people don’t know what’s going on in the background.”
The Canadian Grand Prix weekend also followed a frustrating race in Spain where Hamilton was overtaken on the last lap by Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber to finish sixth, while Max Verstappen’s Red Bull dropped to tenth after a penalty for colliding with George Russell.
The 39-year-old insisted the team’s current challenges and internal restructuring should not be seen as a sign of instability.
“Embedding new people, new personnel, or engineers or who run the organisation takes time to adjust, the impact of that is significant,” Hamilton said.
He added: “I am here to win with Fred, he has my full support.”
