Photo: Mercedes/Ferrari/autoevolution
After 11 years and six championships alongside the Mercedes-AMG Formula One team, Lewis Hamilton might be turning his gaze towards Maranello in a bid to join Ferrari in time for the 2025 F1 season. While this has yet to be officially confirmed, the internet is currently buzzing with reports of an imminent announcement.
At Ferrari, Hamilton would team up with Charles Leclerc, which obviously means that Carlos Sainz will need to find himself a seat elsewhere.
According to reports, negotiations between Hamilton’s camp and the Scuderia are at an advanced stage and could be concluded by the end of this week. It’s also been pointed out that Hamilton’s current contract extension with Mercedes might have an optional clause for 2025, allowing him to depart the German outfit in favor of their rivals from Maranello.
Should these reports end up being confirmed, it would obviously signal a massive blow to Mercedes’ chances of competing for a championship in Formula 1 – not just for 2025 and beyond, but also for this upcoming season, seeing as how an official announcement would surely create tension between Hamilton and his current team/engineers.
It’s possible that Hamilton has seen enough with regards to the W13 and W14 race cars, both of which underperformed during these past two years. The zero-pod concept was an obvious failure for Mercedes, which is why the W15 is understood to mark a major design reset.
Still, the 39-year-old, seven-time F1 world champion might not be willing to wait and see whether this new design philosophy can yield him another title in the coming years. He’s undoubtedly already driven the car in the simulator, so he probably already knows what to expect to some extent.
On the other hand, I’m not exactly sure why Ferrari wants to force a partnership between two hyper competitive drivers, where one’s a seven-time world champion and the other has both the talent and desire to reach those heights. Hamilton might end up pressuring Leclerc in all the wrong ways. When you have a dominant driver, you ideally want your second driver to be nearly as capable but willing to get out of the way if need be.
At this point in his career, the best teammate for Leclerc is precisely someone like Carlos Sainz. Think about it. Jordan had Pippen, Hamilton had Bottas, Vettel had Webber, Max has Perez. You get where this is going. Rarely, if ever, have we seen a pairing like the one Leclerc and Hamilton would make.
But let's wait and see what happens.
According to reports, negotiations between Hamilton’s camp and the Scuderia are at an advanced stage and could be concluded by the end of this week. It’s also been pointed out that Hamilton’s current contract extension with Mercedes might have an optional clause for 2025, allowing him to depart the German outfit in favor of their rivals from Maranello.
Should these reports end up being confirmed, it would obviously signal a massive blow to Mercedes’ chances of competing for a championship in Formula 1 – not just for 2025 and beyond, but also for this upcoming season, seeing as how an official announcement would surely create tension between Hamilton and his current team/engineers.
It’s possible that Hamilton has seen enough with regards to the W13 and W14 race cars, both of which underperformed during these past two years. The zero-pod concept was an obvious failure for Mercedes, which is why the W15 is understood to mark a major design reset.
Still, the 39-year-old, seven-time F1 world champion might not be willing to wait and see whether this new design philosophy can yield him another title in the coming years. He’s undoubtedly already driven the car in the simulator, so he probably already knows what to expect to some extent.
Wait, does this really make sense?
Kind of, especially for Hamilton. Compared to his current team, Ferrari have produced a superior car in each of these past two seasons – despite being hampered by poor team strategy and orders. But assuming the Scuderia can get their act together, they could prove to be more of a problem for Red Bull than Mercedes will.On the other hand, I’m not exactly sure why Ferrari wants to force a partnership between two hyper competitive drivers, where one’s a seven-time world champion and the other has both the talent and desire to reach those heights. Hamilton might end up pressuring Leclerc in all the wrong ways. When you have a dominant driver, you ideally want your second driver to be nearly as capable but willing to get out of the way if need be.
At this point in his career, the best teammate for Leclerc is precisely someone like Carlos Sainz. Think about it. Jordan had Pippen, Hamilton had Bottas, Vettel had Webber, Max has Perez. You get where this is going. Rarely, if ever, have we seen a pairing like the one Leclerc and Hamilton would make.
But let's wait and see what happens.
Google News