Lewis Hamilton’s fame might not be as untouchable because it was in 2020, when he claimed his record-equalling seventh world championship, but Scuderia Ferrari’s resolution to drop Carlos Sainz on the finish of the 2024 Formulation 1 marketing campaign in favor of him speaks volumes.
Carlos Sainz, getting into the ultimate yr of his contract, would sometimes have been a protected guess to retain his seat. He had confirmed himself a a number of race-winner able to beating Charles Leclerc on his greatest days and persistently staying aggressive.
Nevertheless, this wasn’t a typical scenario. The game’s most embellished driver, Lewis Hamilton, had change into out there. His resolution to go away Mercedes appeared to stem from a need for a recent problem and a career-long dream of racing for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton had been promised by Mercedes that the ground-effect period would deliver championship-contending automobiles, however these assurances didn’t materialize, seemingly eroding his belief within the staff’s future path.
Different choices for Lewis Hamilton have been restricted. Whereas Pink Bull had a emptiness alongside Sergio Perez, pairing him with Max Verstappen was virtually unthinkable after their fierce 2021 rivalry. Equally, McLaren, recent off their Constructors’ Championship triumph, was firmly dedicated to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
This left Ferrari as the one viable different. Hamilton had harbored aspirations of driving for the long-lasting Scuderia since 2004, and at 39 years previous, each he and the staff have been lastly able to make it a actuality.
Hamilton’s Ferrari Transfer Not Sudden, Says Former Mercedes Colleague
Mercedes race staff coordinator Stephen Lord, talking on the *Past the Grid* podcast, revealed he wasn’t stunned by Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari. Lord recalled a dialog from years earlier by which Hamilton admitted that each driver understands the attract of driving for the legendary pink staff.
Lewis Hamilton’s transfer mirrors the journeys of rivals like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who additionally left championship-winning groups to chase glory with Ferrari. For Hamilton, this transition represents an opportunity to satisfy an unfulfilled ambition.
But Stephen Lord had as soon as envisioned a distinct path for Hamilton, believing the British driver may sooner or later return to McLaren. With McLaren ending a 26-year look forward to a Constructors’ Championship, the prospect appeared believable. Nevertheless, staff boss Zak Brown stays steadfast in his dedication to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, making the Ferrari swap of the seven-time Formulation 1 world champion probably the most practical selection.
“I feel that’s been his plan all alongside [joining Ferrari],” Lord stated. “A couple of years in the past, it got here up in dialog. I truly at all times thought he is perhaps tempted again to McLaren, however I used to be fully unsuitable. He at all times stated that he felt most drivers had a need to, in some unspecified time in the future of their profession, drive for Ferrari. I wasn’t stunned in any respect. We will see by the historical past of the game there’s a need amongst nice drivers to go to Ferrari and win world championships there.” – Stephen Lord identified – “Fernando did it, Seb did it. I feel that can at all times stay. They’re the oldest, most recognisable staff within the pit lane. The historical past and the esteem that that market’s held in, I feel it’s inevitable that folks would need to go there.” – he continued.
Lewis Hamilton Displays on Leaving McLaren and the Chance of Returning
Lewis Hamilton’s Formulation 1 journey started with McLaren, the place he rose by the ranks of their driver academy to clinch his first World Championship in 2008. He spent six years with the Woking-based staff, 4 of them as a Formulation 1 driver, earlier than making a shock swap to Mercedes in 2013—a choice that may in the end redefine his profession.
Trying again, the British driver expressed remorse over the best way he dealt with his departure from McLaren, admitting he prevented delivering the information in particular person. He later vowed to appropriate this method when leaving any future groups, guaranteeing open and direct communication.
Regardless of the awkward exit, Hamilton has maintained a optimistic relationship together with his former staff. He publicly congratulated McLaren on their latest Constructors’ Championship win in Abu Dhabi, demonstrating a continued respect for the staff that launched his profession.
In an interview shortly after leaving McLaren in 2012, Lewis Hamilton was requested in regards to the prospect of returning sooner or later. His response was characteristically open-ended: “By no means say by no means.” Whereas he acknowledged McLaren as his “residence” in Formulation 1 and admitted {that a} reunion can be “good,” such a state of affairs now seems more and more unbelievable given the evolution of each his profession and the staff’s path.
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