Ferrari boss confident 'frustrated' Hamilton will bounce back after Hungarian GP
As on Saturday, when he was dumped out of Q2 and appeared miserable, claiming he was "completely useless" and saying the team should "bring in another driver", Hamilton seemed utterly deflated.
To most observers, it appeared as if the pressures of living up to the hype of his spectacular marquee move from Mercedes, where he won six titles, and adjusting to the culture, car and expectations at Ferrari were overwhelming him.
At 40, talk of imminent retirement circled around him.
But Vasseur was swift to defend Hamilton, who has always been prone to impulsive heart-on-sleeve reactions.
"I don't need to motivate him," said Vasseur. "Honestly, he's frustrated, but not demotivated.
"He's demanding, but I think it's also why he's (a) seven-time world champion. I can perfectly understand this situation.
"Sometimes, you are making comments on what the driver is saying (in) the car, but if you put the microphone on some other sportsmen, in football and so on, I'm not sure that it would be much better.
"Sometimes, just after the race or just after qualifying, you are very disappointed and the first reaction is harsh. I can understand the frustration, but we are all frustrated."
'He will be back'
Vasseur added Hamilton's weekend appeared worse than it really was because of the tight and competitive times that led him to miss out on reaching Q3 on Saturday.
"For sure, when you are a seven-time world champion, your team-mate is on pole position and you are out in Q2, it's a tough situation," he said.
"But overall, we can also have a deep look that he was in front of Charles in Q1 and with the first set that he was one-tenth off in Q2. We were not far away from having the two cars out in Q2.
"I can understand the frustration from Lewis. That's normal and he will come back. He was stuck in a DRS train, but when he was alone, the pace was good.
"I'm sure that he will be back and he will perform."
Fourth-placed Leclerc backed his team-mate.
"At the end, we are one team and as much as I want to finish in front of Lewis, I want both of us to be successful and for Ferrari to be successful, and obviously this weekend has been a tough one for Lewis," Leclerc said.
"But I have no doubt that it's a one-off and I'm sure the second part of the season will be a lot more positive."
Hamilton, sixth in the drivers' standings, but without a podium for Ferrari this year, said he was looking forward to a much-needed "break from work" during F1's August holiday before the Dutch Grand Prix on the final weekend of this month.
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