Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has urged Lewis Hamilton to keep his head amid a difficult start to his time at the Scuderia.
Hamilton, 40, has been told to ‘stay calm’ by Vasseur, 57, with the Frenchman saying that his public outbursts ‘only make things worse’ for the team.
The Brit has endured a tough first half of the season since signing for Ferrari after leaving Mercedes – where he won six of his seven Drivers’ Championships.
However, in the red of the Prancing Horse, he has struggled to replicate such form, failing to even notch a podium with a best finish of fourth place on three occasions.
This has resulted in him frequently venting his frustration in public following a string of below-par results.
In turn, that appears to have now irked team principal Vasseur, who has spoken out on the issue.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has urged Lewis Hamilton to keep his head amid a difficult start to his time at the Scuderia
Hamilton, 40, has been told to ‘stay calm’ by Vasseur, 57, with the Frenchman saying that his public outbursts ‘only make things worse’ for the team
He told German publication Auto Motor und Sport: ‘Stay calm.
‘Build on the fact that he has already taken the first step. Don’t let things like what happened in Budapest get you down.
‘Lewis is very self-critical. He is always extreme in his reactions. Sometimes he is too hard on the car, sometimes on himself. He wants to get the most out of himself and everyone in the team.
‘You have to calm him down and explain to him that in Q2 [in Hungary] he was only a tenth of a second behind the driver [Leclerc] who later took pole position. That’s no big deal.
‘The message he sends out only makes things worse.
‘Most of the time, he’s only that extreme with the press. By the time he comes into the briefing room, he’s usually calmed down again. That’s just his way.’
The Formula One season is currently in the middle of a summer break – with Hamilton sitting a lowly sixth place in the race for the title and a whopping 175 points behind Oscar Piastri.
The F1 season returns with the Dutch Grand Prix – with race day on August 31 as Piastri looks to extend his advantage at the top of the standings over McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.