Seven-time Method 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is making ready to shut the chapter on his extremely profitable profession with Mercedes as he transitions into a brand new part with Ferrari.
Ending one of the affluent partnerships in Method 1 historical past was no simple alternative for the 39-year-old driver. Throughout his time with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton claimed six Drivers’ Championships and helped the workforce safe eight Constructors’ titles, solidifying their dominance within the sport. Nonetheless, with the most recent technology of vehicles, the steadiness of energy shifted in favor of Max Verstappen and Purple Bull, and extra not too long ago, McLaren has risen to problem them.
Regardless of this shift, workforce principal Toto Wolff solely supplied Lewis Hamilton a contract with a break clause, which finally paved the way in which for Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari in 2025 when the chance arose. But, 2024 has been one of the difficult seasons of Lewis Hamilton’s illustrious profession, as he finishes exterior the highest six within the championship standings for the primary time.
Lewis Hamilton has signed a profitable take care of the Maranello workforce, initially set to run till the conclusion of the 2026 Method 1 marketing campaign. Each side maintain the choice to increase the contract, giving Hamilton the prospect to guage the efficiency of Ferrari’s next-generation automotive in 2026 and assess his possibilities of securing extra world titles.
In a dialog with Sport1, Ralf Schumacher mentioned why he believes the British driver could not even full his contract at Ferrari, suggesting there’s a actual risk that the Brit might go away sooner than anticipated. When requested about the opportunity of Lewis Hamilton not finishing the primary two years of his contract, the previous Method 1 driver responded: “The hazard is there if all the things goes negatively. I believe that if Lewis realises that he’s now not residing as much as his personal expectations, he’ll say so.”
Peter Windsor is unsure whether or not Ferrari absolutely thought of all doable outcomes after they signed Hamilton, however he believes the advantages far outweigh any potential dangers.
Lewis Hamilton, when utterly centered and in the appropriate automotive, is an extremely robust competitor to beat—a undeniable fact that early indications counsel he could expertise when he joins Ferrari at Maranello.
Workforce principal Frederic Vasseur will probably be happy with the progress Ferrari made in 2024, although he’s properly conscious that there’s nonetheless untapped potential the workforce can discover as they head into the following season.
Ralf Schumacher, having firsthand expertise with Ferrari’s internal workings, is well-versed in how the Italian press can deal with the workforce’s drivers.
He witnessed how his brother Michael was dealt with by the media in the course of the difficult early years with Ferrari, notably how the press reacted to each Michael’s teammates and his personal success when he went on to win 5 consecutive championships with the Scuderia. When requested how lengthy Hamilton would obtain favorable therapy from the Italian media, the German responded: “The expectations are excessive, and so are the feelings. You received’t have endurance for greater than six months if issues aren’t going properly. He’s not used to the strain from exterior. In Italy, the clocks tick just a little otherwise. Even in Michael’s time, they needed to fireplace Jean Todt when the successes took too lengthy. Michael prevented that and it ended up being a cheerful ending. Sadly, I doubt that can occur with Lewis. However perhaps he’ll be fortunate and the automotive will go well with him. Then all the things might prove very properly. However I’ve my doubts.” – he defined.
The British driver is raring to expertise his first outing in a Ferrari, however was unable to take action in the course of the post-season testing. As an alternative, his preliminary alternative to get a really feel for all times with the Maranello workforce will seemingly come throughout a TPC (Testing of Earlier Automobiles) session on the Fiorano circuit, which is scheduled earlier than the official pre-season testing begins.
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