In what was deemed as the transfer of the century that raked the entire sporting community, let alone Formula 1, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team to join Scuderia Ferrari for the 2025 season.
After winning 6 titles with Mercedes in the past 12 years, Lewis Hamilton opted out of his extension contract to sign a multi-year deal with Ferrari. While Mercedes’ lack of competitiveness played a role, Hamilton’s childhood dream of wearing the red overalls was also a significant factor behind the groundbreaking move. However, Ferrari means business when is comes to preset expectations.
John Elkann Wants Ferrari To Win With Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton jumped ships to an unfamiliar territory of Italy as he will be joining hands with Scuderia Ferrari from the 2025 F1 season onwards. Once tipped to wrap his career with his beloved Mercedes family, Hamilton’s last-minute ditch certainly caught everyone on the paddock off guard. Moreover, with the 39-year-old being in the final stage of his glorious and successful F1 career, leaving the comfort zone of Mercedes to explore the competitive environment of Italy didn’t necessarily make sense to a lot of people. However, Lewis made it clear that he had always dreamt of donning the red overalls while growing up, and perhaps the timing was right to accomplish the final dream before eventually retiring from racing.
Having said that, Ferrari president John Elkann refused to label Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move as a potential retirement stint. While talking to Corriere dello Sport, Elkann issued a stern warning to Hamilton and the Prancing Horse to emphasise winning. He wants Lewis Hamilton to win his eighth title with Ferrari and, hence, is committed to building a motivated team around him. “He doesn’t come to Ferrari to enjoy retirement, and it’s important to have motivated people around him who want to win,” Elkann said. Notably, Ferrari appears to be going the extra mile to prepare for Hamilton’s arrival. For the 2025 season, the Maranello-based outfit is mulling a complete design and technical setup overhaul. One of the most significant adjustments will be a switch to a pull-rod front suspension system, something Red Bull and McLaren have embraced in the recent past and achieved success with.
What Motivated Hamilton To Ditch Mercedes?
Meanwhile, Mercedes trackside engineer, Andrew Shovlin shared his taken on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move and stated that had Mercedes been competitive, Hamilton wouldn’t be this tempted to seek a change. “If we were dominating a championship, I suspect it would have been difficult for him to do that [exit],” Shovlin told media.
However, at the same time, Andrew Shovlin understands that Lewis Hamilton desperately wanted to add another chapter to his illustrious racing career. And the best time to seek a shift was now as he will be turning 40 next year. Also, switching teams at this point in his career is a big challenge, and Lewis Hamilton definitely volunteered for this hurdle for the sake of the thrill.
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