Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are both delighted that Ferrari has extended Fred Vasseur's contract.

Already struggling, the Maranello outfit's cause hasn't been helped by claims in the Italian media that Vasseur was essentially a dead man walking, with Christian Horner among several linked with the Frenchman's job, even before the Briton was fired by Red Bull.

Today, as Ferrari confirmed that Vasseur will continue to lead the team, both drivers gave the decision their full support.

"I only heard about it yesterday," Hamilton told reporters at the Hungaroring. "You've heard my positive comments about Fred," he added, "I told everyone that.

"There's nothing else to add. I told you before that it was the right choice. Fred signed me here."

"I'm really, really happy," added Leclerc. "It's not that it's coming as a surprise, but I'm really happy, especially in the past month there were quite a few rumours, like it's always the case around the team.

"So to finally have the official news out is important, and I'm really happy."

Hamilton worked with Vasseur at ART Grand Prix when racing in GP2, so in joining Ferrari he already knew how the Frenchman approached his job.

Asked how he compared to his other previous boss, Toto Wolff, Hamilton said: "Completely different.

"In terms of the race, the characters, they're both massive racers," he added, "so that's what they have in common.

"All I can say, from my previous experience, is I remember the real positive when I was working with Toto, was just how he was able to utilise individuals, figure out how people work best, how to get the most out of someone. For example, with me, he created freedom for me to be able to express myself the way I wanted to, and that enabled me to be the best version of myself, and that's what he does, he would do there.

"Fred is very similar in that respect, and I'm still trying to learn the way that Fred likes to work, but I have absolute confidence in Fred, as I've always said."

Leclerc previously worked under Mattia Binotto, though he previously worked with Vasseur at Sauber.

"He definitely changed the way we are working on different things," said the Monegasque of Vasseur's arrival at Maranello. "But again, I think where Fred made the biggest difference is the way his vision, his overall vision. This, he definitely embedded into the team and that's very, very important.

"I feel like the beauty of Ferrari is the fact that emotionally speaking, it's always quite intense, but it can also harm us in some ways and especially when tougher times arrive. Fred has always had a very cold blood in those moments and helped the team to just be a little bit more lucid. That's probably the biggest thing that Fred brought to the team."

The youngster also believes that, in the face of the regulations overhaul, stability is important.

"I'm not the one making the decisions whatsoever," he said. "But I think stability, though, is always very, very important. Fred is obviously the person we look up to and the person leading the team, and to have him for many more years is definitely a really good thing.

"Also because in Formula 1, it takes time to build something, and especially a successful team. So yeah, again, I'm very happy about that, and knowing that I'll be able to have Fred alongside me for four more years is something that makes me optimistic for the future."

Regarding the media speculation over his boss, Leclerc said: "I think the fact that there was so much hype around the team at the moment when we started the season, everybody thought about us going to win the championship. And unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Then there were some rumours around and that took a bigger proportion than what we would have wanted. But these are not things that we can control. As I was saying earlier, I think it's part of Ferrari. It's always been the case and it will never change. So we cannot really focus on that.

"I think the best thing we can do is to try and not think about those things as much as possible."