Just over a week ago, Ferrari confirmed that Charles Leclerc would remain with the team for “several more seasons” when his current contract expires at the end of this season.
Having raced for the Scuderia from his second year in the sport, Leclerc has chosen to stay with his team to try and become the first Ferrari world champion since Kimi Raikkonen, all the way back in 2007.Last weekend, RaceFans readers were asked whether you believed Leclerc will one day win the Formula 1 world championship in a Ferrari. Almost two-thirds of you said ‘no’, you do not feel that Leclerc will win a title while driving for Ferrari.
Since then, it’s fair to say that the dynamic of Ferrari’s future has changed rather dramatically. On Thursday, Mercedes announced that Lewis Hamilton would leave the team at the end of this year after 12 seasons and six championships with them. Then, Ferrari confirmed that Hamilton would indeed be joining them for the start of the 2025 season on a multi-year contract.
As Hamilton’s first race in the scarlet colours of Ferrari will be after he has turned 40 years old, it seems likely this could be the start of the final chapter in his historic career. But as he hunts for another world championship title to separate himself from Michael Schumacher and stand alone, the question must now be asked; will he be able to win the title in a Ferrari?
For
Although Mercedes have struggled to keep up with rivals Red Bull or even Ferrari in recent seasons, Hamilton’s performance in 2023 – in which he finished third in the championship – proved that he remains just as capable of competing for the ultimate prize as ever.
As Fernando Alonso has shown, truly great drivers can continue to perform at an extremely high level even into their early forties. There is no reason to expect that Hamilton, with his record of success, will not be able to continue at that level over the coming years.
The only question is if Ferrari are capable of providing him with a car capable of doing so. Leclerc and Hamilton both clearly buy into team principal Frederic Vasseur’s vision for the future of the team. Hamilton famously made a bold decision to move teams from McLaren to Mercedes which paid off handsomely. With Ferrari continue to rebuild, perhaps he knows this is his best chance of getting a championship-worthy car before he retires?
Against
As much success as Hamilton has enjoyed in his career, it’s fair to point out how he is currently suffering a win drought that has lasted over two years. And until the opening round of the season in Bahrain in under four weeks’ time, there’s currently no reason to be sure Mercedes will be fighting for wins again.
No one can be sure that Hamilton has not regressed in his abilities since his championship years. Similarly, Ferrari are currently a team building for the future. But it takes a long time to get all the parts together to become a title winning team – especially in the modern budget cap era.
Then there’s the biggest obstacle: Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Even if Ferrari do prove to be the strongest competitors to the champions over the next few years, it would be foolish to assume that Red Bull will lose their advantage and give up ground to the opposition, even into the new power unit formula in 2026. That could be too much for even Hamilton to overcome.
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I say
No matter what comes of it, Hamilton in a Ferrari is an exciting enough prospect to make even the most cynical of Formula 1 fans excited. Like Zinedene Zidane signing with Real Madrid or Terrell Owens joining the Philadelphia Eagles, there’s always something thrilling about seeing one of the best sportspeople in the world joining one of the most iconic teams in sport.
Leclerc has more time available to him than Hamilton. As Maranello continues to poach technical talent from other teams and grow in line with Vasseur’s vision for the team, it could be that Hamilton joins Ferrari as they begin their ascension up the mountain but may not be there in time for them to reach the top.
But the more obvious reason why he might fail to achieve what will likely be the final goal of his career is that Max Verstappen will just be too unstoppable to beat. The three-times world champion has looked untouchable since Hamilton lost the 2021 title to him in the most infuriating of circumstances and even if Ferrari can build a challenger to go toe-to-toe with Red Bull, beating Verstappen is still an extremely difficult challenge.
For those reasons, it feels like Hamilton is more likely to be disappointed in his quest to win a title for the Scuderia than he is to succeed. But many commenters doubted his move to Mercedes from McLaren all those years ago and it was likely the single greatest driver move in the sport’s history. If there’s anyone who can prove this wrong, it’s Lewis Hamilton.
You say
Do you think Lewis Hamilton can win a world championship with Ferrari? Vote in our poll and have your say in the comments below.
Will Lewis Hamilton win a world championship with Ferrari?
- Yes (27%)
- No (73%)
Total Voters: 176
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- Is the FIA right to make ten seconds the new standard for penalties?
MichaelN
4th February 2024, 13:47
A lot will depend on how well Mercedes and Ferrari do this year. They were both running compromised 2023 cars, for different reasons, and should be able to make a big step this year. Nevertheless, and especially on one-lap pace, Ferrari already wasn’t usually that far off. The idea that Red Bull will continue to dominate the next two years is, perhaps, a bit premature. That said… if they are still getting made to look silly this coming season, then it’s a big problem… for all of F1.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
4th February 2024, 15:20
MichaelN,
Don’t forget that RBR are leveraging their second team as a proxy for car development purposes to get round the budget cap penalty. It was rumoured that Zak Brown already complained about it in a letter sent to the FIA. They will get the RB19 suspension and probably will come out with something à la Pink Mercedes. It’s time for F1 to end this masquerade.
Steve (@duuxdeluxe)
4th February 2024, 15:30
Please stop with this pushing of fake news.
There are parts that are allowed to be used/bought by other teams, and HAAS has been doing as much with Ferrari (the team you’re clearly supporting) since before Alpha Tauri has been getting ‘everything’ that is allowed. Obviously you’re failing to to admit that Ferrari is using HAAS (by your logic) to get around the development cap since they are doing poorly (as always, nothing new on Ferrari’s end there).
Sometimes the team you support is doing bad and another is doing much better, making up stuff in order to make you sleep better (or angier in your case) at night reflects poorly on you.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
4th February 2024, 18:17
@duuxdeluxe
Dismissing inconvenient facts as fake news is a simple defense mechanism. I didn’t initiate the propagation of these “fake news” but rather reported them. The letter Zak Brown wrote was open and he publicly denounced the ties between RBR and Alpha Tauri.
AMuS featured an entire article discussing how teams might circumvent the budget cap by utilizing proxy teams, suggesting discussions between the different team members like “Nevermind developing the floor this way, that diffuser solution is quite interesting…” , equivalent to months of development.
The concern extends beyond transferable parts; it’s about the prohibited transfer of IP, an issue that has already occurred.
Otherwise, can you explain how, following Dietrich Mateschitz’s passing, Christian Horner managed to sway the new Red Bull CEO, Oliver Mintzlaff, and the entire board of directors, who were strongly inclined to sell Alpha Tauri? Despite seemingly conflicting numbers from a business standpoint, Horner successfully presented the “benefits” that Alpha Tauri contributes to RBR.
Additionally, there seems to be a recent surge in recruiting high-caliber personnel. Mekies, for instance, has been actively engaging with his former Ferrari colleagues, unsettling Vasseur, exploring their interest for a potential moves to Alpha Tauri. Moreover, the Alpha Tauri aerodynamicists were relocated from Faenza to Milton Keynes.
How about a bet on whether the upcoming Alpha Tauri car will bear a striking resemblance to the RB20 ?
Osnola
4th February 2024, 22:43
You are now confusing rumours with fact.
The rumour AT would be sold is nothing more then that.
So yes, still fake news.
notagrumpyfan
5th February 2024, 7:19
You’re a bit short on facts (the open letter was by a competitor. What did you expect?), and seem to have missed the commotion when Haas decided to buy as much a Ferrari as they could and use Ferrari staff for development and that the main IP issue was between Mercedes and Racing Point.
MichaelN
4th February 2024, 20:32
What is Red Bull getting out of Alpha Tauri?
It’s obviously not developing driver talent, and hasn’t been for many years. They’re using it to dump their former ‘not good enough’ drivers like Kvyat, Gasly, and now Ricciardo, and their obligatory Japanese driver in. Why are they so interested in keeping these around?
It’s also ostensibly used to promote the Red Bull clothing items to a worldwide audience. The same clothing line that has all of three stores, all of whom are in Austria. And now, just because, they’re throwing this all away and promoting… VISA? That has nothing to do with Red Bull.
They also clearly have no autonomy, with Christian Horner constantly speaking on their behalf, even deciding which drivers they field. And as reported in the article linked to above, the supposedly independent “Italian” team somehow needs its people to work, by sheer coincidence, in the same English town as Red Bull is located. Perhaps the air there is very representative of average track conditions on F1 circuits, who knows.
Red Bull and the Red Bull test team should not be both in F1. Not when F1 is turning away perfectly fine other, real, teams.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
5th February 2024, 10:35
MichaelN,
Don’t bother mate…
Andrea Rancan
4th February 2024, 15:49
High unlikely.
He needs two unlikely things do it:
1) Ferrari to be the best car
2) Himself doing better than Leclerc
Dave
4th February 2024, 17:31
Yep, that’s pretty much it.
BasCB (@bascb)
4th February 2024, 17:31
And a third thing – Ferrari consistently functioning during the race with regards to strategy and execution of pitstops, something they haven’t shown being capable of doing consistently.
notagrumpyfan
5th February 2024, 7:35
That’s probably the biggest challenge.
Ferrari did have the faster car at the start of 2022, and might be able to do it again.
Hamilton is typically rated a better racer (over a season) than Leclerc. But their age profiles might change this.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
4th February 2024, 16:54
Where did you read that bit of nonsense? Twitter?
RR
4th February 2024, 14:21
If Ferrari can produce an earth to mars rocket ship, then yes. Chance of that: pretty slim. Lewis is not even joining now to help them refine their concepts. Plus they will be focused on Leclerc. They are not a team that can deliver for both its drivers, not many teams can.
Plus Lewis will be slower in 2025. It is called aging. Inevitable.
Asd
4th February 2024, 14:32
Hamilton has not proven he can win a WDC with a less than a dominant car, quite to the contrary, especially in the last 2 seasons he has shown he is not very adaptive and quite vulnerable to anything that isn’t perfect on his car.
But, with Newey’s F1 career end looming and many crucial engineers departing from Mercedes, Ferrari might be on top in the upcoming several seasons, especially in 2026. And they very well might build the perfect car for Hamilton. But even then… there is still Leclerc sitting in a same Ferrari.
So, I see Hamilton possibly winning many races for Ferrari, but not neccessarily winning championships.
André
4th February 2024, 15:41
McLaren wasn’t dominant in 2008 when he won the first title. Mercedes wasn’t dominant in 2021 when he was about to win the 8th title, until Masi decided to hand the victory to Verstappen. Mercedes wasn’t dominant from 2017-2019 when Ferrari was taking many qualis and wins with Vettel and later with Leclerc.
Point being, you people misuse the word “dominant”. Dominant is the Redbull from the last 2 years. Dominant was the Mercedes from 2014-2016 and 2020. Dominant was the Redbull from 2013.
Any world champion needs a competitive car, but a competitive that takes the victory isn’t necessarily dominant.
Edvaldo
4th February 2024, 17:43
I doubt this dude was even alive in 2008, so of course he doesn’t know any better.
Nick T.
4th February 2024, 21:58
Except for 2013, Hamilton (and Button) had the best of the rest car more often than any other driver during RBR’s run and he undelivered compared to Alonso whose car never exceeded 2nd best (which was for brief windows in 2010 and 2012), was usually the 3rd or 4th best car on the grid and was sometimes down as far as 6th best.
No doubt Hamilton is one of the best drivers in history. When the car is superb car, I don’t think there’s been anyone who could match his ultimate speed in the same car (I’m excluding Max here because I don’t want to get into all that), but he’s shown himself to be anything but unbeatable in a car that is fast but not necessarily easy to setup.
I’m excited to see how Lewis adapts. This’ll be only the second time we’ll get to see how he does adapting to a new car.
Edvaldo
4th February 2024, 23:58
Back in those years Hamilton had as team mate a driver taking points off him whereas Alonso had one that even took a penaltiy so he could start on the clean side of the track.
Hamilton was disappointing in 2011, but 2010 and 2012 given the reliability and performance of those cars, it would be difficult to win even if he was perfect. Mclaren faded to a definitive 3rd fastest by the end of 2010 and in 2012 both car and team were unreliable, many botched pist stops and DNFs.
O'Ray
5th February 2024, 8:45
You right, the 2010 season he was on of the four who went into the final race with an outside chance of winning the championship, without the 2 back to back DNF at Monza and Singapore might have made him one of the favourites. The 2011 season was a one horse title race, the 2012 again reliability played a part most especially ater when he announced that he was leaving. In reality Mclaren can build a race winning car, but not a championship winning car.
@André was right the 2008 Mclaren wasn’t dominant it swings from circuit to circuit which car is more suited
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th February 2024, 10:57
I otherwise agree with your comment, but the masi handing victory is twisting facts: verstappen outperformed hamilton over the 2021 season, and if hamilton had made as many mistakes as verstappen that season he’d have won even with the questionable abu dhabi decision.
Ferdinand
5th February 2024, 7:38
I agree here. He needs a dominant car. And if he has it, so does Leclerc whom I value higher than Rosberg. That would then need team orders favouring Lewis throughout the season. Not unthinkable given questionable decisions Ferrari has made in the past but that would mean throwing Leclerc under the bus to favour someone close to retirement.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
4th February 2024, 15:08
“Can” he win? …. yes, of course.
He is still a very capable driver and only needs the right car and team support.
“Will” he win? … it seems unlikely given Ferraris penchant for screwing up these days.
Nick T.
4th February 2024, 22:01
Exactly. That’s why I hate titles and questions like this. We know there are at least three drivers who given the best car will deliver a title no questions asked. The “can they” question is always simply down to the car. So, as you said, the question should just be “can Ferrari produce a championship capable car.”
MacLeod (@macleod)
5th February 2024, 8:23
That is my opinion also Lewis can win the championship but ‘will’ is hard as everything should be perfect and Ferrari isn’t that (at this moment).
black (@black)
4th February 2024, 15:29
When the same question was asked in 2012 about Hamilton winning in Mercedes, I said ‘no’.. this time I’d pick ‘yes’ for the following reasons:
1. Even if the other team manage to catch Red Bull in 2024-25 and take regular victories, it’s pretty much expected from everyone that Red Bull will take both championships one way or another. So I doubt that even Hamilton would consider 2025 as anything but a ‘introduction’ year, to learn the team and to try to iron out some disfunctional areas (strategy, tyres, in year development) by giving valuable insight from the well-oiled machine that was Mercedes.
So the main goal is to be competitive in 2026-27. Ferrari in the last major rule changes (2017, 2022) prooved that they can do their homework and produce WDC-capable (not dominating sure) cars, so the technical department is not that bad, they just lose their development path easily during the year (I still remember 2018 when they kept bringing updates for 3 months with no results, only to remove them in one race and the car suddenly became much faster).
So in all, Hamilton – with his large experience – can help the team not mess up their in-year development.
2. Vasseur already seems like a better leader than Binotto (too nice) and Arrivabene (a bit volatile). Just by signing Hamilton – possibly the biggest transfer since Schumacher in ’96 – speaks volumes of his experience how to handle star drivers and knowledge of the sport. I highly doubt that he convinced Hamilton just by talking about the allure of driving a Ferrari and not by also providing a concrete plan on how they plan to come back on top.
Even in 2023 – given the car was designed by Binotto’s team – he managed to limit the blunders during the races, which were too many in 2022, a first sign he can somehow organize the team better.
3. 2026 is a big bet for everyone. Even if Red Bull have poached many good engineers, it’s no gurantee that they’d have a killer engine like Mercedes in 2014. Mercedes could be back on top, or Ferrari, or Honda… nobody knows. So Verstappen’s domination is not certain that will continue after 2025. So yes 2026 is a gamble for Hamilton but also an opportunity for dethroning Verstappen from his killer car+engine. And besides Verstappen, I doubt there are many drivers who can really challenge Hamilton over a season if he gets a good car.
4. Leclerc has been ‘maturing’ for god knows how long. He had his chance in 2022 and he blew it (yes the team let him down but he did a lot of blunders on his own). He’s fast, no doubt, but far from consistent, he’s too erratic sometimes and doesn’t seem to have the ice cold psychology that Schumacher, Alonso or Verstappen have. He barely beat Sainz, who’s not a top driver. So even if Hamilton is 40+, I doubt Leclerc would have the absolute edge over him.
Frank
4th February 2024, 16:02
Apart from Hamilton and Verstappen, I do not think there is another driver that is guaranteed to outscore Sainz over a season. Yes, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso and Russell probably can do it, but Sainz definitely has a fighting chance against them.
Against the rest of the grid, I would back Sainz to come out on top.
Probably not on race pace, but I think he will outqualify Hamilton, which may give him the upper hand during strategic calls. If Leclerc manages to raise his game against Hamilton, he will be a fearsome competitor.
Effwon (@effwon)
4th February 2024, 16:07
The Philadelphia Eagles? One of the most iconic teams in sport? Joking aside, Hamilton would love to emulate Brady to the Bucs, or Stafford to the Rams, for one final hurrah before riding off into the sunset.
Tbf it’s hard for a superstar to move to an already-competitive team in the NFL because of the cost cap – there’s only so much quality one franchise can afford to keep so it’s usually a handful of star players paired with young, cheap talent. The best trade I can think of in recent years is Christian McCaffrey going to the 49ers, who not-at-all coincidentally will be contending for Super Bowl glory next Sunday.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
4th February 2024, 16:20
More likely in a sportscar than F1. Ferrari will do better – they’ll have to – and maybe Leclerc will be the main beneficiary. But unless Max makes an early exit, I can’t see them taking Red Bull down.
Grapmg
4th February 2024, 16:48
The big question is can he beat Leclerc at Ferrari? Even if Ferrari someday can fight for Championship you don’t want two nr1 drivers. Looking forward to see them battle for the nr1 status.
notagrumpyfan
5th February 2024, 7:49
Leclerc rolled over too quickly when the less than impressive Vettel was given the #1 spot. He doesn’t seem the racer who fights very hard for that position. He seems too much of a nice guy.
That might also be his missing treat when fighting for a full championship.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th February 2024, 11:04
Yet he quickly established himself as the number 1 driver simply by outperforming vettel.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
4th February 2024, 16:58
Remember Leclerc and Vettel in 2019?
MichaelN
4th February 2024, 20:34
It was a great pair, with both capable of winning.
Replacing Vettel with Sainz was another one of Binotto’s genius ideas.
Nick T.
4th February 2024, 22:08
It’s crazy that your Binotto statement is so clearly off no matter whether you read it deadpan or you read it and saw the sarcasm.
It was an obvious move to make. Vettel had clearly fallen apart even before the unhappy divorce season. So, the options were either pay a huge salary to a struggling driver that will be unhappy with losing #1 driver status or get someone 80% cheaper who will likely be just as fast and more consistent. Therefore, you can neither call it a bad move nor call it a genius move.
CarWars (@maxv)
4th February 2024, 17:00
Seems Ferrari can produce a winning car in this era if they can avoid to be found out cheating for a year.
S
5th February 2024, 4:54
Some people would like us to believe that if they exceeded the budget cap by just a few $Million, they’d be almost guaranteed to win for the next few years…
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
4th February 2024, 17:34
I don’t think he will.
My main concern is the Ferrari environment on race day. Lewis has built a legendary synergy with Mercedes. They understand what he likes from the car and will, almost subconsciously, mould strategies and set-ups to his liking. Ferrari have clearly improved in this area, but it’s noticeable from their sprint weekends that they gain the least performance from practice sessions. Lewis may be able to help the team evolve through the weekends but I think Lewis-Mercedes greatest strength is being taken away from him. How many times has Bono overruled him with a correct strategy? How will Ferrari react to “my tyres are gone” half way through the stint?
I think a lot of the commentary on the Leclerc article boiled down to whether Red Bull will drop the ball in 2026. I don’t think a lot of people see Max being beaten even in comparatively equal cars. Leclerc’s strongest season was when the car was at its best, so if Ferrari produce a super quick 2026 car then I’d back Charles to beat Lewis. Mainly as Charles seems to prefer to race from the front and he’ll be faster in qualifying.
Another element is that frankly, Lewis isn’t as good as he once was. It’s not a massive performance drop but he was clearly demotivated at the tail end of last season and he makes too many errors in wheel-to-wheel combat. I’m confident he’ll win races, probably another one or two for Mercedes, but I don’t think he’d beat Max in even cars or Charles if Ferrari were dominant.
raddie (@raddie)
4th February 2024, 17:39
If anyone is going to win a title for Ferrari, it’s going to be ChL. It will be a total culture shock for LH. Italy is a completely different world ;-)
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
4th February 2024, 21:19
Charles Leclerc needs to be more consistent and avoid his occasional rookie blunders
Ferrari need to improve the car (quite a bit) and the strategy (a real lot) if they want to beat RBR (and Max).
I can see Charles Leclerc winning the occasional race and a few podiums but not the championship. His teammate? not a chance, maybe a flukey podium once in a blue moon.
Nick T.
4th February 2024, 22:14
As someone who is not a fan of Lewis and therefore neutral in this situation, I find it crazy how many people are still telling themselves Leclerc is the better driver here. Lewis has that spectacular ultimate one-lap pace but without the frequent errors. And, while not a race craft genius like Alonso, he’s certainly has better race craft and tire management skills than Leclerc. Not sure where people see this edge for Charles coming from.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th February 2024, 11:07
Yes, I like leclerc but I think hamilton still has the edge across a whole season: he makes less mistakes and should end up with more points, even though leclerc should be a bit faster.
Edvaldo
4th February 2024, 17:41
Hardly. But if it happens it would definitely be much more meaningful than doing it with Mercedes again.
Imre (@f1mre)
4th February 2024, 17:58
Winning a WDC with three different teams and winning 8 in total. Would be an amazing achievement.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
4th February 2024, 18:14
Depends on the Ferrari he’s driving for. In the Ferrari we saw in 2023, no, he will not. Time will tell if he can change Ferrari and who he can bring along for the ride.
Either way, a lot depends on the 2026 Red Bull situation. If their new engine is good enough to be at the front, I think Prime Max is going to be a tough nut to crack for literally anyone in the field at this moment.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
4th February 2024, 18:51
The effect of weighted aerodynamic testing rules will be more dominant in 2025 and even more dominant in 2026, so while Ferrari should be getting closer to Max in a Red Bull, everyone else will be more competitive too. We already have Qualifying sessions where thousands of a second separate those who get knocked out from those who progress to the next round. We can expect more of those in 2025 and 2026.
I luv chicken
4th February 2024, 19:21
Clever way, by Ferrari, to keep Hamilton out of the championship equation. Bring him in house, so that CL will have one less competitor, for the title. “Lewis, Charles is quicker than you.”
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th February 2024, 11:08
In order for a driver to get that team radio, the other driver must be faster, so if by any chance hamilton is faster than leclerc it will not happen.
BMW P 85 V10
4th February 2024, 19:35
I think Lewis will not succeed to win a WDC with Ferrari.
– I think Lewis can’t handle the pit-wall challenges that will be thrown at him during the race. He can’t read a race like Carlos does. He will be left on his own on more then one crucial occasion.
– If the car doesn’t handle to Lewis his likes he will blaim the car and noting else. With Mercedes he was allowed to with Toto even backing him up. But was this yeas Mercedes so bad? Ferrari will never accept a driver to openly critisize their car and if so, that driver will have some unconvinient chats.
– Lewis himself is far from faultless he last couple of seasons. These mistakes he makes will cost him to much if the competion is close. He will need a car that is fastest by far, and then he still has to deal with Charles Lleclerc.
I don’t see anything above happening with Ferrari in the next couple of seasons. By that time he will be to slow overall to really challenge foor WDC. If he’s not yet already, just judging by his performances on street circuits the last couple of years, I think the reflexes already beginning to fade.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
4th February 2024, 19:51
No chance. I think he will come out ahead of Leclerc due solely to his consistency which Leclerc lacks. Ferrari simply won’t be competitive enough to challenge for a championship for an entire season.
DavidDesu
4th February 2024, 20:00
I’m optimistic, I’ve got to be as a Ferrari fan and a Hamilton convert since that brutal travesty of 21. I hope Ferrari can deliver a good car and that Hamilton can do what seems impossible right now. What a story it would be.
Ferrari definitely seem to have turned a corner and Vasseur seems to have an actual competent plan and is getting good people in place to deliver. Hopefully the comedic performances of years gone by will become a thing of the past. I also don’t think Leclerc will have what it takes, sadly, to really fight Hamilton. He is SO prone to careless mistakes when under pressure and if he cannot fix that he will never win a championship. Hamilton still has what it takes, just need that car to be at least somewhat level to the competitors and anything is possible.
If others can catch up with Red Bull we should at the very least have a highly competitive and enjoyable to watch season of F1. Then 26 onwards anything can happen.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th February 2024, 20:01
As much as I hope he could, that seems doubtful.
hein
4th February 2024, 20:03
It is likely he could help Ferrari win a constructor’s championship, but with Red Bull prioritizing one driver so aggressively, the drivers’ championship will be a tall order for any driver from any other team.
Tristan
4th February 2024, 20:33
If Leclerc was unlikely in the last opinion poll, Hamilton has to be more so.
How I can’t wait to see the fireworks of these 2 fighting if Ferrari are competitive though. They won’t even be able to afford to fight with Max around. Each will feel like every single point given to their team mate instead of them is costing them the championship.
I really hope we get to see it.
Johnny
5th February 2024, 3:20
Me too, it’s not like Vertappen’s team mate/s would ever take points away from him. The last one that could on a semi regular basis Verstappen would rather crash and take them both out of the race and to have him team mate overtake him.
David BR (@david-br)
4th February 2024, 21:24
Yes.
I think there’s an outside chance wins his eighth title this year. If Mercedes by some mix of luck and creative engineering produce a car capable of competing with Red Bull, then various factors kick in: first, Hamilton will be relaxed and focused exclusively on his driving this year, with all development and ‘team leader’ pressure switched to Russell. Second, Red Bull have Pérez. That will cause them huge problems in a tight season-long contest against two fast Mercedes.
At Ferrari, I expect Hamilton’s speed, consistency and experience to out-match Leclerc. He’ll have 3-4 years for them to get a title-capable car and I expect them to finally achieve that – especially with the buzz and experience and new recruits that Hamilton’s arrival will bring.
jenc (@jens)
4th February 2024, 22:04
It is by will of god that the last world champion at Ferrari is and forever will be Kimi Raikkonnen… 😊
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
4th February 2024, 22:38
He has a better chance in a Ferrari than in a Mercedes. Mercedes’ pit crew loses a second or more to their competition on every pit stop. There is some type of organizational dysfunction at Mercedes that prevented the organization from moving on from an absolutely horrible design. That may have been fixed this offseason, but the team lost at least 2 years continually trying to improve a design that had a foundational flaw. Wolff said they were going to scrap the car after the initial season only to show up with the same car again. I also think there was friction with Russell who seemed to have lost his mind sometime during the past season. I think it was time for a change which will hopefully light a fire at Mercedes to get better. We need some competitiveness from all of the teams.
F1 Fan
4th February 2024, 22:45
No.
Unlike many hardcore fans of his here like to believe, he lacks consistency over a season, and will have to beat Leclerc at the very least assuming everything else is perfect. And while pace wise I don’t doubt he will be there, I seriously doubt if he will be consistent. He is still very fast for more than half the races nowadays which is what many fans remember and “forget” his poor races. I simply haven’t seen him be consistent since that patch of his from late 2018 to early 2019. This lack of consistency is what cost him a title in 2021, and the intra team battle in 2022 (with Russell having better luck). He had better luck and generally outperformed Russell in 2023 but I doubt if he will be able to repeat that assuming Russell is less boneheaded and both have similar luck.
Ferrari also have to make a semi-decent car, which they haven’t done in an entire decade barring 2018 and 2017. The 2022 Ferrari is useless as it cannot even handle a technical directive. Ferrari have to take care of race operations additionally, which they are excellent at being poor in, especially under pressure. Leclerc on Hards after seeing Alpine suffer was chefs kiss.
Finally, Red Bull have to falter. With simplified engine regulations, and them being generally among the best aero teams, combined with a driver as consistent as Verstappen, I have serious doubts they will be poor in 2026, and that will basically be the benchmark Ferrari have to overcome, which frankly looks simply impossible today.
Hamilton has nothing to lose from this deal. Assuming he beats Leclerc and wins something (which I still think is unlikely), his legacy will be even greater. Assuming he doesn’t there’s always age to point to. Him making twice the money of what he was making at Mercedes is perfect for someone in the twilight of their career.
Ferrari however, have other things to fix. F1 is called a “motor” sport for a reason, and drivers hardly make the difference unless there’s serious competition. They have resorted to bringing a big name driver who they hope will “fix” their problems.
Lewisham Milton
4th February 2024, 23:53
“Is there a hole in the back of your cap?”
“No.”
David B
5th February 2024, 2:04
He’s not going to Ferrari to win a championship. He’s going for the money & a different experience. Ferrari don’t deliver, even when they’re in with a shout.
notagrumpyfan
5th February 2024, 7:57
Rumoured to be less than at Mercedes :p
Aussie Rod (@aussierod)
5th February 2024, 2:18
If any driver is going to go to Ferrari and deliver them a first WDC for decades whilst achieving their personal goal of an 8th WDC for themselves to become the undisputed GOAT, my money would be on Verstappen doing it in 2028 not Hamilton in 2025/26.
But all credit to Lewis for taking on the challenge of Ferrari and Leclerc. Should be fascinating to watch unfold !
Johnny
5th February 2024, 3:16
Only if the FiA lets him.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
5th February 2024, 7:14
“Not only is he at the mercy of the Scuderia’s ability to produce a championship-worthy car – something they have failed to do for well over a decade now”
This is a very odd statement considering Ferrari produced a championship worthy car in 2022, the failure to do better in 2022 hardly can be put on the car. Ferrari pit wall and their drivers failed to deliver the results.
Sergey Martyn
5th February 2024, 7:45
Scuderia strategists say – we will do our best to prevent it!!!
Philip (@philipgb)
5th February 2024, 10:33
I don’t realistically think Hamilton is going to win a championship in a Ferrari for many reasons. First there’s the low odds of Ferrari producing a championship worthy car (maybe 2 in the last 15 years), then even if they do the still slim chance of Ferrari managing a championship campaign without throwing it away, and finally if the stars align there’s Charles Leclerc in the other seat, probably the toughest team mate Hamilton will have had since Alonso where even if the two taking points off one another doesn’t throw it away my money would still lean slightly towards Leclerc having the edge at this point in their careers
That said I think it’s a better chance than at Mercedes. Their glory days are gone and unlike Red Bull when they had their drought, it’s a fundamental car design problem not just being stuck with the worst power unit. Red Bull still produced arguably the best chassis during their fallow period and all it took was getting the right power unit in the back.
Even if a championship isn’t on the cards for Hamilton, I’m sure he’d at least like to end his career with some wins, which again are probably more forthcoming with a Ferrari than Mercedes
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
5th February 2024, 11:37
I voted no. The starting point obviously is can Ferrari produce a good enough car. Possibly but we can only conclude on past experience, possibly not.
I expect Lewis will take some time to adapt to Ferrari’s way of doing things. How the team is managed and things like strategy calls by the team definitely need to improve. But I think he might help get them to where they want to be. I think he is going to be a lot more demanding than Charles.
I suspect Lewis and Charles will be pretty even in terms of performance. Charles will almost certainly be the fastest most of the time. But Lewis probably has the advantage on race and tyre management and getting the result. He does not make many mistakes either. Even if the car is good enough, it might be close between them.
Boomerang
6th February 2024, 9:35
To beat Max these days you need a car designed by God. Ferrari hires only humans.
MCG (@malrg)
9th February 2024, 4:25
There are 5-10 drivers on the grid that could win the title in 2026 including Lewis. Depends on Car and Team performance relative to the others.