Vasseur: Big change for Hamilton, perhaps we underestimate this

Hamilton's start to his career in Red has been very hard, as the seven-time F1 champion has struggled to get up to speed with his SF-25, as his win of the Chinese Sprint Race now seems to be an anomaly, while it was previously seen as the Briton's signal that his stint at Maranello was on the right track.

What put Hamilton's struggles in a bad light was the fact that his teammate, Charles Leclerc, was able to maximize the potential of the inconsistent SF-25 more often than not.

In a recent interview with Formula 1's Official Website, Vasseur was quizzed about Hamilton's difficulties at Ferrari; he said: "I think perhaps that we underestimate the challenge for Lewis at the beginning of the season.

"He spent almost 10 years with McLaren and then 10 years with Mercedes—that’s almost 20 years with Mercedes in the same environment.

"It was a huge change for Lewis in terms of culture, in terms of people around him, in terms of software, in terms of car, in terms of every single topic was a big change perhaps that we underestimate this, Lewis and myself.

"But I'm very, very pleased because the last four or five races he was back into the pace," the Frenchman concluded.

While Vasseur's words appear to be playing down Hamilton's performances at Ferrari, it is worth noting that they have been said before the F1 cars ran in anger over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.

Hamilton had a torrid time qualifying 12th while Leclerc was on pole and went on to deliver a controversial statement that he was "useless" and that Ferrari should replace him while also pointing out many things going on in the background.

There have been many rumors claiming Hamilton is unable to fit into the Ferrari culture at Maranello, while many claim he has lost his edge, while we can only wait and see how he performs in the final part of the season after the summer break.