Stephen Lord, coordinator of the Mercedes F1 racing team, did not “no way” was surprised by Lewis Hamilton’s choice to join Ferrari, as he believes it was his “plan from the beginning” of his career.
Lord had worked with Hamilton during their time at McLaren, before joining Mercedes at the same time in 2013 and the seven-time world champion personally asked the racing team coordinator to take on some of the duties left vacant by physio Angela Cullen when she left the Brit in 2023.
Lord admitted he had thought a new venture with McLaren would have been possible but Ferrari had long been on Hamilton’s mind.
When asked on the Beyond the Grid podcast if he was surprised by Hamilton’s transfer, Lord simply replied: “Not at all. Because I think that was his plan all along.”
“A few years ago it came up between us in conversation. I actually always thought he might be tempted to come back to McLaren, but I was completely wrong.”
“But yes, we had a conversation years ago, and he always said that he thought that most drivers had the desire, at least at some point in their career, to drive the Ferrari. So I wasn’t surprised at all.”
“I mean, we can see throughout the history of this sport, that there is a desire among the great drivers to go to Ferrari and win world championships there. Fernando [Alonso] did it, Seb [Vettel] did it. I think this desire will always remain.”
“It’s the oldest and most recognizable team in the pit lane, the history and the esteem that that brand has, I think it’s inevitable that people will want to go there.”
Belgium
