Ferrari's Hamilton problem returns after another difficult weekend
Corriere della Sera and Gazzetta dello Sport turn on Hamilton's flat mood and Vasseur's leadership as Ferrari slides through a familiar late-season slump.
Ferrari's familiar cycle of early optimism followed by mounting pressure has returned, with Italian media now questioning Lewis Hamilton's mood, Frederic Vasseur's leadership and the team's wider direction.
Giorgio Terruzzi wrote in Corriere della Sera that something now appears to be "broken" in Hamilton after another difficult weekend in Baku.
"In interviews yesterday, he sounded like Raikkonen from the good old days," the Italian journalist noted.
"He has zero desire to talk. He has no desire to be anywhere else."
"Something's off in Hamilton's mood."
Italian media deliver their verdict
Terruzzi said reports from Maranello describe conflicting interpretations of the situation, including claims that Hamilton and his entourage have become increasingly demanding and frustrated with some members of Ferrari's trackside operation.
"Lewis was convinced he was fighting for the title, his eighth, at 41 years old," he wrote.
"He had put Leclerc in his place with results. He deserved the role of lead driver, a role that has always been his."
"It's not going that way at all."
Terruzzi also pointed out that Hamilton has now been beaten by Charles Leclerc in five of the last seven grands prix after his much stronger first half of the season.
Hamilton himself admitted after Baku that Ferrari's problem is not isolated. "It's not just one problem," he told Sky Italia.
"There's a lot of different aspects that we have to improve. And I don't know if the next races in Malaysia and Singapore will be much better for us."
"Seeing the power of the others here in Baku, I'm not sure we'll make a step forward."
La Gazzetta dello Sport captured the mood with the headline: "Do you have faith in Vasseur? Hamilton curtly: 'Si.' And that's it... Two letters, a thousand doubts at Ferrari."
Leo Turrini, writing in Quotidiano, said the problem extends beyond any one individual.
"In the present, the Reds are at their lowest ebb," he wrote.
"Mediocrity is absolute and not at all golden. Ferrari hasn't set foot on the podium in five races."
"Resignation has prevailed in Maranello."
He added: "To avoid any misunderstanding, should he ever arrive in Maranello, Chris Horner will soon discover that the task is a damned difficult one."
1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, meanwhile, believes Ferrari's drivers are also feeding the tension.
"They react very strongly to being beaten by their teammate, much more than any other team," he noted.
"It seems to be more important for them to be ahead of your teammate than on pole."
"It's really a strange balance they have internally there."
Related: Horner leaves the door open for a Ferrari role
