Montezemolo: “It’s a risk to take Hamilton”

While on the one hand, having a seven-time world champion in the team gives a lot of motivation, on the other, ousting Carlos Sainz and replacing him with Lewis Hamilton for 2025 and beyond is a “risk”. This is the opinion of former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo who, on Rai GR Parliament, shared his point of view. According to him, there is much more to the new Hamilton-Ferrari collaboration than just marketing.

“Hamilton is a phenomenon like Verstappen. His arrival at Ferrari is not a marketing operation: he wants to end his career by winning in red. But the choice of Lewis on the one hand is a risk because you take a champion who has won a lot and who comes to Ferrari to win, and on the other hand there is Leclerc who despite doing good races has never been champion and the years they pass. It will be a very interesting year for Ferrari, provided they manage to close the gap with McLaren to start already competitive from the first race. There must also be clarity on management within the team.”

Montezemolo also admits that it is a shame that Carlos Sainz lost his seat:

“In recent years, Ferrari’s problem is not linked to the drivers. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are strong.”