Lewis Hamilton’s status will not be as untouchable because it was in 2020, when he claimed his record-equalling seventh world championship, but Scuderia Ferrari’s choice to drop Carlos Sainz on the finish of the 2024 System 1 marketing campaign in favor of him speaks volumes.
Carlos Sainz, coming into the ultimate 12 months of his contract, would sometimes have been a protected wager 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.
Nonetheless, this wasn’t a typical state of affairs. The game’s most adorned driver, Lewis Hamilton, had change into out there. His choice to depart 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 convey championship-contending automobiles, however these assurances didn’t materialize, seemingly eroding his belief within the crew’s future path.
Different choices for Lewis Hamilton had been restricted. Whereas Crimson 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 various. Hamilton had harbored aspirations of driving for the enduring Scuderia since 2004, and at 39 years outdated, each he and the crew had been lastly able to make it a actuality.
Hamilton’s Ferrari Transfer Not Surprising, Says Former Mercedes Colleague
Mercedes race crew coordinator Stephen Lord, talking on the *Past the Grid* podcast, revealed he wasn’t shocked by Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari. Lord recalled a dialog from years earlier through which Hamilton admitted that each driver understands the attract of driving for the legendary pink crew.
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 meet 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 watch for a Constructors’ Championship, the prospect appeared believable. Nonetheless, crew boss Zak Brown stays steadfast in his dedication to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, making the Ferrari swap of the seven-time System 1 world champion probably the most real looking alternative.
“I feel that’s been his plan all alongside [joining Ferrari],” Lord mentioned. “A number of years in the past, it got here up in dialog. I really all the time thought he may be tempted again to McLaren, however I used to be fully incorrect. He all the time mentioned that he felt most drivers had a need to, sooner or later of their profession, drive for Ferrari. I wasn’t shocked 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 may all the time stay. They’re the oldest, most recognisable crew 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 Risk of Returning
Lewis Hamilton’s System 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 crew, 4 of them as a System 1 driver, earlier than making a shock swap to Mercedes in 2013—a call that might finally redefine his profession.
Trying again, the British driver expressed remorse over the way in which he dealt with his departure from McLaren, admitting he prevented delivering the information in individual. He later vowed to appropriate this strategy when leaving any future groups, making certain open and direct communication.
Regardless of the awkward exit, Hamilton has maintained a constructive relationship along with his former crew. He publicly congratulated McLaren on their latest Constructors’ Championship win in Abu Dhabi, demonstrating a continued respect for the crew 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 System 1 and admitted {that a} reunion can be “good,” such a state of affairs now seems more and more inconceivable given the evolution of each his profession and the crew’s path.
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