EXCLUSIVE: The inside story of Lewis Hamilton and Frederic Vasseur’s last title win – and the ‘100%’ belief they can do it again at Ferrari

“I’m sure it’s already clicked. Even if it’s like 19 years ago, it will be the same. Fred knows how to speak to Lewis, and the same way in return, Lewis knows what to say to Fred, because they already had the experience in F3 and GP2. I’m just looking forward to watching the first few races, to see how it goes!”

So, how does Hamilton’s former team mate rate his chances of writing one more winning story with the most famous team in F1?

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“It’s not that I’m hoping… I truly believe he can do it – Lewis is born to win,” adds Premat, who himself got close to F1 with several practice outings before focusing on a career in the German DTM touring car series and sportscars.

“I was at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last year and spent some time with Lewis, talking about various things. I have two children, 16 and 13, and every time I see him we speak about that… He’s like, ‘Oh my God, you’re a dad!’ I then remind him, ‘You have different targets. You want to win, that’s what you do’.

“I can tell you right now, I’m sure that every morning he wakes up, he goes training, his mentality is strong, and he wants to destroy everyone. I know it – I know it 100%. I think having Fred with him is going to unleash that power.”