Seven-time System 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is getting ready to shut the chapter on his extremely profitable profession with Mercedes as he transitions into a brand new section with Ferrari.
Ending probably the most affluent partnerships in System 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 staff safe eight Constructors’ titles, solidifying their dominance within the sport. Nonetheless, with the newest era of vehicles, the steadiness of energy shifted in favor of Max Verstappen and Purple Bull, and extra lately, McLaren has risen to problem them.
Regardless of this shift, staff principal Toto Wolff solely supplied Lewis Hamilton a contract with a break clause, which in the end paved the way in which for Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari in 2025 when the chance arose. But, 2024 has been probably the most difficult seasons of Lewis Hamilton’s illustrious profession, as he finishes outdoors the highest six within the championship standings for the primary time.
Lewis Hamilton has signed a profitable cope with the Maranello staff, initially set to run till the conclusion of the 2026 System 1 marketing campaign. Each side maintain the choice to increase the contract, giving Hamilton the prospect to judge the efficiency of Ferrari’s next-generation automotive in 2026 and assess his probabilities of securing further world titles.
In a dialog with Sport1, Ralf Schumacher mentioned why he believes the British driver might not even full his contract at Ferrari, suggesting there’s a actual chance that the Brit might depart sooner than anticipated. When requested about the potential for Lewis Hamilton not finishing the primary two years of his contract, the previous System 1 driver responded: “The hazard is there if the whole lot goes negatively. I believe that if Lewis realises that he’s now not dwelling as much as his personal expectations, he’ll say so.”
Peter Windsor is unsure whether or not Ferrari totally thought-about all doable outcomes once they signed Hamilton, however he believes the advantages far outweigh any potential dangers.
Lewis Hamilton, when fully centered and in the correct automotive, is an extremely robust competitor to beat—a incontrovertible fact that early indications recommend he might expertise when he joins Ferrari at Maranello.
Crew principal Frederic Vasseur can be glad with the progress Ferrari made in 2024, although he’s nicely conscious that there’s nonetheless untapped potential the staff 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 staff’s drivers.
He witnessed how his brother Michael was dealt with by the media throughout 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 persistence for greater than six months if issues aren’t going nicely. He’s not used to the stress from outdoors. In Italy, the clocks tick just a little otherwise. Even in Michael’s time, they needed to fireside Jean Todt when the successes took too lengthy. Michael prevented that and it ended up being a contented ending. Sadly, I doubt that can occur with Lewis. However perhaps he’ll be fortunate and the automotive will swimsuit him. Then the whole lot might end up very nicely. 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 throughout the post-season testing. As a substitute, his preliminary alternative to get a really feel for all times with the Maranello staff 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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