Earlier this year, Lewis Hamilton announced his plans to join Ferrari next year. It was shocking for most of the Mercedes team fans that the seven-time champion would not finish his career being part of the same team. He has been part of the Silver Arrows since 2013. And from 2014 to 2021, no other team came close to winning the constructor title. The Mercedes-Hamilton collaboration was enjoying tremendous success and hegemony on the grid in those eight years. But who knew that their highly successful journey would come to a crushing end in the next three years?
Since 2022, Red Bull has dethroned the Silver Arrows, the most dominant team in the grid. On the other hand, the team that dominated the turbo-hybrid era managed to win only a single race between 2022 and 2023. Lewis Hamilton remained winless in those two seasons. It was the longest winless streak for the seven-time champion. Hence, he felt he needed to make a tough decision and announced his departure from Mercedes at the end of this season. This decision opened the doors of a historic collaboration with the Prancing Horse.
F1 CEO Believes The Partnership Between Ferrari And Lewis Hamilton Will Be Huge For The Sport
In his Instagram post early this year, Lewis Hamilton mentioned that it was his lifelong dream to drive for the Prancing Horse. Moreover, the idea of the collaboration between the sport’s most successful team and the most decorated racer should improve F1’s growth. That’s what Formula 1 CEO Stephano Domenicali believes, too. Lately, in an interview with Motorsport, the F1 CEO mentioned that the first images of Hamilton in the iconic ‘Red Uniform’ will go viral all across the globe. Domenicali said, “It’s convincing enough for me that those photos will go around the world.” He added that the communication potential of Lewis Hamilton, along with Ferrari, should be a “Truly Explosive Tandem.” Thinking about the communication prospect between the two iconic F1 entities, Domenicali says it should draw more viewers to the sport.
https://x.com/Motorsport_IT/status/1828484679059533932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1828484679059533932%7Ctwgr%5Eb5b3f750ba1b21e3b63a15d17b13bc9f454bd08d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthesportsrush.com%2Ff1-news-stephano-domenicali-believes-lewis-hamilton-in-a-red-suit-would-be-huge-for-f1%2F
Most importantly, Hamilton, who’s one of the most popular athletes in the world, should bring in new viewers to watch him drive for the iconic Italian outfit. Financially speaking, Domenicali was right, as Ferrari’s stock saw a ten percent increase on the New York Stock Exchange. It was as much as a $7 billion increase just days after Hamilton announced his 2025 plans with Ferrari. Meanwhile, Ferrari President John Elkann will invest $100 million annually in Lewis Hamilton. It will cover the 39-year-old driver’s salary and benefits, and the money will go directly to Mission 44, Hamilton’s charity. All that the Prancing Horse wants in return is a World Championship.
Mercedes Will Miss The Seven-Time Champion’s Potent Feedback
Ferrari has not won a World Championship since 2008. As Lewis Hamilton will be on board starting from 2025, they will look to contend for the title again. On the other hand, the Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director, Andrew Shovlin, pointed out the ability of Hamilton to elevate the team’s performance. The chief engineer of the Silver Arrows said that Hamilton would always push the engineers to keep performing at the highest level.
https://x.com/sim3744/status/1823383937051160717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1823383937051160717%7Ctwgr%5Eb5b3f750ba1b21e3b63a15d17b13bc9f454bd08d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthesportsrush.com%2Ff1-news-stephano-domenicali-believes-lewis-hamilton-in-a-red-suit-would-be-huge-for-f1%2F
Moreover, Shovlin added that the seven-time champion would always be ready with “The potent feedback” that proved how valuable he is to the car’s development. On top of that, the chief engineer feels he would miss Hamilton because “He is a character that’s good fun to work with.”
Stay tuned to Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite F1 team.
