Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari - win or bust?
On February 1, 2024, Ferrari shocked the world by signing 7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton on a multi-year contract. A year later, his first ever Ferrari picture became the most liked Formula 1 post of all time in just few hours. However, can they make this connection functional in the end?
To objectively figure out this question, let me first introduce both sides. Lewis Hamilton is one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time, having over a hundred wins, pole positions, and two hundred podium finishes. In 2020, he equaled Schumacher's record of most championship titles, and in 2021, he was just one lap away from breaking it when Max Verstappen snatched the title on the last lap of the last race of the season. On the other hand, Ferrari is undisputably the most successful team in Formula 1 of all time with many World Drivers Championships and World Constructors' Championship's among their drivers. Despite of being competitive throughout their history, they haven't won any championship since 2007, which was onwards from now 18 years ago. Nonetheless, last season, they lost the Constructors' Championship by just 14 points.
And there is the unification - the best driver in the best team. So, expectedly, the fans are hyped as much as possible. Since 2023, Ferrari has a new team principal, Frederic Vasseur, an incredibly important mentor in the past of both current Ferrari drivers, and regardless of the struggle in 2023, his team created a solid car for 2024, which just showed how great Vasseur's management is. Essentially, these are all arguments as to why the plan may work out in the end.
Nonetheless, with all these unique performances of individuals, it might be quite easy for fans to be disappointed if it will not be functional. After the last season, which ended up relatively well for Ferrari, the goal for this season is to win at least one championship title. And the championship, which includes 24 races, is a really "long game". The possible struggle might cause some pressure on the team and people normally act differently under the pressure. We have seen both Hamilton and Leclerc being rude or unhappy on the radio in the past due to the circumstances and this year might not be an irregularity. Additionally, the zeal of both drivers to score their first or eighth title will be much bigger also because of their teammate - Hamilton do not want to exit Ferrari immediately and Leclerc would like to secure his dominance from the past 6 years.
In the end, we are going to figure this question out by the end of 2025.
Jakub Ondruš
https://www.news.gp/cs/lewis-hamilton-zahajuje-svou-eru-ve-ferrari-navstevou-maranella<br>