Fred Vasseur on the Ferrari gamble that failed Lewis Hamilton at Italian GP

Vasseur says Ferrari’s overcut gamble for Hamilton against Russell failed due to unexpectedly low tyre degradation

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has discussed the gamble the team took with Lewis Hamilton as he struggled to pass George Russell during the 2025 Italian Grand Prix. Ultimately, it failed to pay off with the seven-time champion finishing sixth after starting 10th.

Despite starting so far back due to a five-place grid penalty, Hamilton quickly started making up positions during his opening stint, eventually finding himself behind his former Mercedes team-mate George Russell. While Hamilton pitted on lap 38, Russell pitted much earlier and benefited from the surprising lack of tyre degradation seen across the grid.

Hamilton's pace advantage after his pitstop wasn't enough to challenge Russell, as the Scuderia chief confirmed.

"It's not that the pace dropped. I think we were able to come back on Russell at the end of the first stint. Then we took a bet to extend and try to have a tyre advantage at the end, but the deg was too low and it didn't work.

"But I think it was the best way to try to overtake Russell on the track. Perhaps if I had to do it again, perhaps I would pit Lewis a bit earlier, but I think it was the best option to try something different."

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images

He was pressed further on the set-up of his cars and whether he would change it in hindsight.

"I think tomorrow we'll have the debriefing. I think it's true for us, but it's true for everybody. You think a bit differently after the weekend, that it could have gone like this, like this, like this. But if you are speaking about the level of downforce, for example, I think in terms of pure performance, it's quite flat.

"There is no big difference in terms of lap time with the different options. It's more the spread of performance over the track. Either you are quicker in the straight line or in the Lesmo.

"But overall, we are speaking about a couple of hundredths. For sure, it's also linked to the track evolution. But it's not there that we missed something. We need to have a look tomorrow. But it's true for us, but I'm sure that Red Bull will have the same analysis tomorrow morning. And [I think] they could have done it a bit differently and a bit better.

"For sure, we have still room for improvement on every single topic. When you are missing the P3 by 0.01 seconds yesterday, every single bit will make a difference."

Despite not getting past his former wingman, Hamilton was visibly more positive this weekend at Ferrari's home race.

"I think this started in Zandvoort last week. It's difficult to say because the outcome of the weekend was not positive for him. But at the end of the day, the pace was better from the beginning compared to Charles. The mood was better.

"During the race, he was fighting with Russell until lap 30. That means that he was back in a better position. I think the energy that he received from the tifosi Wednesday, Thursday in Milano was something very special for him. I don't know if it was expected from him. I don't know what he was expecting from this. But it was something mega. And I think this gave him an extra boost all over the weekend.

"For sure, we had to serve the penalty. We knew from the beginning of the weekend that it was plus five. It's not an easy one. But we came back behind Russell. And the pace was there from the first lap of FP1 to the last lap of the race."