Ferrari F1 boss tells forlorn Lewis Hamilton to ‘calm down’

Lewis Hamilton has been urged to “calm down” by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur in response to his comments at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton's disappointing maiden F1 season as a Ferrari driver continued in Las Vegas, leading to some pretty gloomy post-race remarks.

Hamilton qualified last on outright pace for the first time in his 17-year F1 career before recovering to 10th on the road in the race (which later became eighth after the McLaren drivers were disqualified).

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 afterwards, a particularly downbeat Hamilton said: “I feel terrible. It’s been the worst season ever and no matter how much I try, it keeps getting worse.”

In a separate interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Hamilton insisted there was “nothing positive” to take from the race.

"I'm eager for it to end, I'm looking forward to it ending. I'm not looking forward to the next one.”

When asked to clarify whether he meant this weekend’s race in Qatar, Hamilton replied: “Next season.”

Hamilton’s latest comments came after the 40-year-old Briton described his first year with Ferrari as a “nightmare” after retiring from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Vasseur understands Hamilton’s frustration

Ferrari team principal Vasseur downplayed his star driver’s latest worrying remarks and pointed to the fact they were made in the heat of the moment.

"I can understand the reaction from Lewis just after the race,” Vasseur said.

"But we just have to calm down, to discuss and to be focused on the next two [races] because the next two, we'll be back.

"Keep in mind also that Lewis was there in FP1, FP2 and the pace was good.

"We have to build up the weekend like this and I think to start from P20 is not the best way.”

The Frenchman added: "The TV pen five minutes after the race when you have had a tough race is very hard for them. You can perfectly understand the adrenaline, the emotion.

"I don't know if normal is the right word, but I prefer to have drivers being very open at the end of the race when you didn't do the perfect job, when the car was not good, to say 'I'm frustrated' than someone going into the TV pen and saying 'I know guys, the team is perfect, the car is good' blah, blah, blah. In this case, you would be upset.

"You can't blame them in these circumstances and I think it's quite normal as a human sometimes on the radio or just after the session to be a bit, not upset, but to be a bit in the emotion.

"Now, the most important [thing] is not what they say in the TV pen, it's what they do on the Monday morning with the team. They try to do better, they try to push the team to do better and this is more the job of the drivers than [what they say in] the TV pen.”

Vasseur also argued that Hamilton’s performances have improved at recent events.

"It's true that on the mathematical side the last couple of weekends were very difficult with Brazil DNF, Mexico the penalty," he said.

"But overall, I think Mexico, Austin, were probably also the best weekends of Lewis in terms of pure performance.

"But now it's true for the team also, we didn't put everything together the last two or three weekends.

"That's why on the mathematical side and on the championship, we took a huge step down. But in terms of pure performance, I think it's where we are not in so bad shape."