Ousting the in-form Carlos Sainz and replacing him with Lewis Hamilton for 2025 and beyond is fine “a risk”.
This is also the point of view of Luca di Montezemolo, former president of Ferrari for many years, who thus joins the opinion given by some consultants in recent times, including Ralf Schumacher.
As impatience grows ahead of seven-time world champion Hamilton’s big move to Maranello, with the 2024 season now complete, his association with Charles Leclerc is a big topic of debate in F1 circles.
“We can be excited about Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari,” admits Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko.
“He will have one of the strongest opponents in qualifying with Charles Leclerc. But in the race he can still be world class if the car is good. However, we have also seen at Mercedes that his motivation is limited if the car is not very good. He must know that he can get on the podium with her. He is probably not going to go out of his way to get tenth place.”
Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya predicts an adaptation period for Hamilton, during which Leclerc “will have the upper hand”.
“But after six or seven races, if the car is competitive, Lewis will win everything. If Ferrari gives him a good car, he can definitely become champion again.”
But Luca di Montezemolo, who has been heavily involved with the Italian brand for several decades, believes the new Hamilton-Ferrari collaboration is about more than just marketing.
“Hamilton is a phenomenon like Max Verstappen. His arrival at Ferrari is not a marketing operation – he wants to end his career winning in red.”
“But the choice of Lewis is on the one hand a risk because we are taking a champion who has won a lot and who comes to Ferrari to win, and on the other hand there is Leclerc who despite good races has never won of title and the years pass.”
“It will be a very interesting year for Ferrari, provided they can close the gap with McLaren to start competitively from the first race. The management of the team also needs to be clear.”
Montezemolo also admits that it is a shame that Carlos Sainz lost his seat.
“In recent years, Ferrari’s problem was not the drivers. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were strong separately and together.”
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