Lewis Hamilton accused the media of having a negative psychological impact on the team’s staff.
But Max was able to do it. He was a P10 in Qualy in Budapest. He was P11 in the race. And then he started to win races. It means that you can come back.”
According to the seven-time world champion, the added pressure from the media has taken a profound toll on the Scuderia staff’s mental health, even more so than the team’s lacklustre performances throughout the majority of the 2025 season.
However, Ferrari‘s team boss, Frederic Vasseur has argued that, although navigating the media’s approach to Ferrari’s season has not been ideal, Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has also shown that a mid-season comeback is indeed possible.
“For sure, it’s not helping,” Vasseur said regarding the media’s attitude toward Ferrari after the race in Qatar. “But it’s our job that you get good results.
“Quite often you are world champion, you are in a tough session, you are nowhere. But we as a team, we have to stay in our bubble and to try to get the best from what we have. For sure you have to deal with this kind of situation,” added Vasseur before turning his attention on Verstappen’s late-season title charge.
Ferrari takes notice of Verstappen’s title charge
“But Max was able to do it,” the Frenchman added. “He was a P10 in Qualy in Budapest. He was P11 in the race. And then he started to win races. It means that you can come back.
“And as a team, we have to try to understand what we did wrong this weekend. I think, from my understanding so far, it’s linked to the tyre pressure, the prescription that we were a bit like on a balloon all weekend.
“We struggled to deal with but it’s the same for everybody, it means that we did a worse job than the others,” Vasseur concluded.
