Vasseur 'the person to take Ferrari to top' - Hamilton

Canadian Grand Prix

Venue: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal Dates: 13-15 June Race start: 19:00 BST connected Sunday

Coverage: Live commentary of first practice, 3rd believe and qualifying connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, pinch FP2 connected Sports Extra. Race is connected BBC Radio 5 Live; unrecorded matter updates connected BBC Sport website and app

Lewis Hamilton says that Ferrari squad main Frederic Vasseur "is nan personification to return america to nan top" amid nan team's struggles astatine nan commencement of this season.

Ferrari person scored conscionable 3 podium places successful grands prix this twelvemonth done Charles Leclerc, while Hamilton won nan sprint title successful China.

The Briton, 40, vanished sixth astatine nan Spanish Grand Prix 2 weeks agone and afterwards said he had "no thought why it was truthful bad" and that it was his "worst title (for Ferrari), balance-wise."

Speaking successful Montreal connected Thursday earlier this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton said: "I emotion moving pinch Fred. Fred's nan main logic I'm successful this squad and sewage nan opportunity to beryllium here, which I'm everlastingly grateful for.

"We're successful this together. We're moving difficult successful nan background. Things aren't cleanable but I americium present to activity pinch nan squad but besides pinch Fred.

"I want Fred here. I judge he is nan personification to return america to nan top."

The seven-time champion described reports successful 2 Italian newspapers that Ferrari were considering replacing Vasseur arsenic "nonsense".

Ferrari said they were not worthy commenting on.

"Most group don't cognize what's going connected successful nan background," Hamilton said. "That's not portion of nan discussion."

He added: "I don't deliberation that's connected nan cards arsenic acold arsenic I'm alert and it's surely not thing I would beryllium supportive of.

"Embedding caller people, whether it's a driver aliases engineers aliases group who tally an organisation, it takes clip to set and nan effect tin beryllium significant. That is not portion of nan discussion. I americium present to triumph pinch Fred and he has my afloat support.

"I person conscionable started pinch Ferrari and I americium present for respective years. There is nary mobility wherever my caput is astatine and what I americium moving towards achieving pinch this team. There are zero doubts."

Vasseur joined Ferrari astatine nan opening of 2023 aft president John Elkann removed his predecessor Mattia Binotto pursuing a 2022 play that had started good but took a move for nan worse amid mediocre reliability, operational errors and deficiency of improvement compared pinch Red Bull.

Last year, Ferrari came adjacent to winning nan constructors' title for nan first clip since 2008, ending nan twelvemonth conscionable 16 points down McLaren, and were expecting this play to beryllium a adjacent conflict astatine nan front.

Instead, McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris person won 7 of nan first 9 races, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen is nan only different driver to sojourn nan apical measurement of nan podium pinch wins successful Japan and Imola.

Hamilton has struggled successful his first races pinch nan team, and has mostly been a small down Leclerc.

He is 1 spot and 23 points down nan Monegasque successful nan drivers' championship.

Hamilton said: "It's been a whirlwind of a year. Everything extracurricular nan title way is going amazing, and I americium moving arsenic difficult arsenic I tin to make judge that's reflected successful nan results.

"We request to bring much capacity to nan car. We person had 1 upgrade successful Bahrain. Hopefully soon we will person another.

"The car I americium racing correct now is not a car I person had input into processing and evolving complete nan past 4 years. I americium driving a car Charles has been portion of developing. It has its challenges but I americium enjoying that challenge."