Ferrari denies it has talked with Hamilton over F1 drive

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has shut down rumours that his squad has approached Lewis Hamtilon regarding a 2024 Formula 1 drive.

Hamilton has been linked with a move to the squad amid Mercedes’ poor run of form, with a recent report stating that it was prepared to offer the seven-time World Champion £40 million a year.

Hamilton has raced for Mercedes since 2013 and has enjoyed unrivalled success with it, winning six F1 titles from 2014 to 2020.

But the Brackley-based squad has struggled for pace since the start of the 2022 season, with Hamilton’s last race win coming in late-2021.

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Amid the speculation that he could opt to part ways with Mercedes and link up with Ferrari, Vasseur asserts that no contact has been made.

“As a joke, I could say two weeks ago you sent [Carlos] Sainz to Audi and one week ago you sent [Charles] Leclerc to Mercedes and now I am alone,” he said.

“But you know that at this stage of the season, you will have each week a different story and we are not sending an offer to Lewis Hamilton. We didn’t do it. We didn’t have discussions. 

“I think every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage, but it would be bullshit to not say something like this. 

“If I have discussed with Hamilton, I have had discussed the last 20 years I have discussed with him almost every single weekend with Hamilton. I don’t want to have to stop having discussions with him because you are chasing me.”

Hamilton is currently out of contact at the end of the 2023 season, while both of Ferrari’s drivers have a deal in place that concludes next year.

While rumours circulated that one of them could be moved aside for Hamilton, Vasseur insists that neither Leclerc nor Sainz expressed concern over the speculation.

“They didn’t have to reassure me last week when you sent them to Sauber, or for Charles it was Mercedes,” he said. 

“They didn’t come to see me, ‘Fred, don’t worry, it’s not true’. We are used to it, we know that each week, we will have new rumors, and we are just focused on the event.”