If Max Verstappen detects a sceptical reaction when he tells people he won’t be a Formula 1 driver in his forties, it’s because we once heard the same from his peers who later went on to do exactly that.
Fernando Alonso admitted he never expected to carry on racing into his fifth decade. Today another multiple champion driver has joined him.For a long time, Lewis Hamilton insisted there was no way he would continue racing beyond his thirties. But if he’s celebrating with a (vegan) birthday cake today, it will need room for 40 candles.
Three years ago, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the examples set by ageing athletes such as Alonso and the NFL’s Tom Brady showed that Hamilton could do the same. But although he later decided to race on, he won’t do so with Mercedes.
At the time he decided to move, Hamilton had seen Mercedes fail to master F1’s latest rules set for two years running. He said the team hadn’t taken his concerns over their W13 chassis seriously enough. Wolff and technical director James Allison both extended their commitments to the team in January last year, leaving no doubts about stability at the top of the team, but Hamilton still chose to go elsewhere.
He decided to reunite with Frederic Vasseur, whose ART team took Hamilton to the GP2 (now Formula 2) championship in 2006, propelling him into Formula 1 the following year. Vasseur has made a success of his appointment in charge of Ferrari two years ago.
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Some questioned Ferrari’s decision to drop Mattia Binotto after 2022, arguing it was a decision foisted upon the racing team by upper management. However Vasseur has proved an astute choice, imposing calmness upon the team while tackling the problem which cost them a clear championship shot when the technical regulations were overhauled three seasons ago.
But Hamilton’s move appears perfectly timed. Ferrari ended 2024 in great shape, winning three of the last nine rounds and finishing a close second in the constructors’ championship. With little changing in the technical regulations for this year, Hamilton can realistically expect his first Ferrari will be capable of winning the championship.
The crucial question is: Can the same be said of the now 40-year-old driver?
Last year was always going to be a peculiar one for Hamilton once he decided it would be his last at Mercedes. While the team made some improvements with its overhauled W15, they still appeared at a loss to understand it for most of the season, and even in the latter stages of the year were somewhat surprised when they stumbled across a working set-up.
Hamilton never clicked with the car over a single flying lap. Worryingly for him and Ferrari, his qualifying performance has slipped since the current generation of technical regulations was introduced. He out-qualified George Russell in their first season together, tied in 2023 and was emphatically beaten last year.
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Now he will go up against a driver who has developed a reputation as a one-lap specialist: Charles Leclerc. Although Alonso is demonstrating that a driver well into his forties can still cut it in F1, no one would claim his team mate is at Leclerc’s level.
Whether Hamilton can make an immediate success of his transition to Ferrari will also depend on how quickly he can adjust to his new environment. Pre-season testing in their new car will remain as tightly restricted as last year, and although the team intend to run him in an older car, new rules for this season now cap how much of that he can do as well.
There is also the significant matter of adjusting to a new race engineer after 12 years with ‘Bono’ – the longest and most successful such partnership in F1 history. There were some hiccups on this side of Ferrari’s operation last year, notably in Las Vegas.
Inevitably, whether Hamilton can fight for that record-breaking eighth world championship this year or in future seasons will firstly depend on the quality of the car Ferrari produce. But last year suggested the field had closed up enough that this is a strong possibility, in which case we will soon get a read on whether Hamilton is still at the peak of his powers, or if the shine has started to come off.
But he has already cemented his place as one of the all-time greats of the sport. After today, if Hamilton wins another world championship he will only add to that status. Not merely by joining the hallowed ranks of Ferrari champions, but becoming the first driver to take a title as a 40-year-old since Jack Brabham, almost 60 years ago.
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BasCB (@bascb)
7th January 2025, 7:39
Will be interesting to see how it goes. Will the team keep operating at the solid level they showed last year (with less “hiccups” than in previous years), is Hamilton going to bed in well at Ferrari, what about the car and how will the teammates get along.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
8th January 2025, 23:12
Sounds like Lewis will be getting quite a bit of testing before the season.
if everyone is grounded, and interested in working from the ground up, slowly and methodically, Lewis will be much more successful in picking up speed. So hopefully there aren’t any weird false pretenses or expectations.
A realistic Ferrari that is interested in HAM’s success, and a HAM willing to put everything on his shoulders to figure out what he can and can’t control is a recipe for another title.
Marcel
7th January 2025, 7:53
Lets see first if the is capable of beating Leclerc.
MacLeod (@macleod)
7th January 2025, 8:02
But the car must be able to win the WC otherwise it doesn’t matter if he beats Charles…
But If Ferrari has the right car Lewis could win the tittle but he has to beat Charles then.
Marcel
7th January 2025, 8:25
Beating a teammate is the most important. Titles have been won in not the best car, no one has of will ever win a title while losing from his teammate.
El Pollo Loco
7th January 2025, 12:37
IMO, beating Leclerc at 40+ would be a bigger deal to his legacy than if he had won another WDC next to Russell in a dominant Mercedes last season. I’ll be wow’ed if he does and I think he’s still capable of it, but it’ll be a huge challenge with Charles having had 4 years in this generation of Ferrari. I think 2026 will be Lewis’ best opportunity to beat Leclerc.
Anyway, let’s see how many more times RF and other websites will be able to recycle this general storyline before next season. The count is already at many dozens.
Riccard
7th January 2025, 8:09
In a dominant car with a teammate like Bottas or Perez, Hamilton could still win the title.
Dr.D
7th January 2025, 8:48
Leclerc only just beat Sainz. And Sainz was beaten by for example Hulkenberg.
How good the Ferrari is, and if Leclerc deserved the first driver spot so far, will be seen next year.
I wouldn’t mind Hamilton winning an other WC.
But it would even be better when Verstappen would win 2026 in a Merc.
Miane
8th January 2025, 11:07
And Hulkenberg was beaten by Riccardo. So we know who is the real deal.
Laurence Cartwright (@lecmeister)
8th January 2025, 22:20
Ricardo was beaten by Norris, who was beaten by Sainz. Therefore, Carlos Sainz is better than Carlos Sainz.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
7th January 2025, 9:53
Not necessarily. Alonso could win a title with Aston Martin first!
El Pollo Loco
7th January 2025, 12:44
Imagine how box office Hamilton and Alonso being the leading title contenders in 2026 would be. It’d be wild.
And it’s hardly outside the realms of possibility. This new generation of fans has the memory of a house fly. I’ve seen both these guys being called dinosaurs or “washed” despite the fact that the guys beat every non-RBR driver in 2023. But one off season for Lewis which wasn’t even particularly bad and the AM being a pile of garbage suddenly = “they’re done” for a non-insignificant % of fans.
El Pollo Loco
7th January 2025, 12:46
Part of this new generation of fans*
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
7th January 2025, 13:25
It would be epic for sure. And if Hamilton is in title contention, Leclerc would surely be a factor too. Sadly, it’s pretty rare that multiple teams are close in performance after a major regulation change, especially one that includes a change in engine formula, but we can still dream.
Jerry
8th January 2025, 10:01
Are you referring to the dropping of the point for fastest lap?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
7th January 2025, 22:15
It’d be sort of like this season, except that was for the constructor’s championship, we had 2 teams that hadn’t won for 16 and 26 years getting more points than the favourite team and the fight going down to the wire, which made it very interesting, so definitely would be nice to see a fight between them, but I don’t see it, alonso is rarely on the right car at the right time and age matters for everyone.
Miane
8th January 2025, 11:09
I think it’s easier for Alonso than for Lewis. At least Alonso only needs that Aston starts the new regulations ahead, Stroll won’t be a real contender.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
7th January 2025, 10:07
I expect the Hamilton Leclerc dynamic to be similar to how Hamilton was against Russell.
That is to say “pretty neck and neck” Hamilton wasn’t right this year but still was close on points. But the first two seasons quali and race points was fairly neck and neck.
This will pose a huge problem for a drivers championship campaign as they both take points off each other. McLaren also have a similar problem. Red Bull’s strategy of backing one driver pays dividends in a drivers championship and even with a weaker car (potentially) I’d still fancy Max to get the job done.
Beyond next season when the dice is rolled…. Who knows. But the above point will still stand.
Tomcat173 (@tomcat173)
7th January 2025, 11:13
Can Lewis clinch his 8th title at Ferrari? Of course its possible. Many things will have to go his way for it to come together (as they do with most championships in Formula 1). The kicker is he’s going to face an uphill battle in almost all aspects, that will make it extremely difficult for him to pull off, in my opinion.
There’s a change in culture going from a British to an Italian team; the 25 Ferrari is likely to continue to be inferior to the McLaren; Charles is embedded at Ferrari and has the benefit of continuity with current gen cars; Lewis will have a new race engineer to gel with; he’ll have to come to grips with the unique quirks of the Ferrari car; Charles is in good form and very strong over 1 lap while Lewis is coming off a poor year; Lewis is into his 40s so might start to see a minor drop off in speed.
While I admire his ability and achievements, as a Ferrari fan, Lewis has always been the enemy in the past. In the context of Ferrari not winning a championship in over 15 years, plus numerous other past champions having tried and failed at Ferrari, with Lewis being robbed in Abu Dhabi in 2021, plus all of the aforementioned hurdles he’ll face.. there’s nothing I’d like to see more than Hamilton overcoming it all, beating everyone else (young or old), and clinching his 8th championship in red.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
7th January 2025, 12:09
I’m in the definite no camp. I honestly don’t think he’s come to grips with the ground effect cars and the required driving style to make them really quick.
I suspect he’ll be quite a bit off Leclerc’s pace, but hey, happy to be wrong.
Martin (@f1hornet)
7th January 2025, 16:39
I would love for you to be proved wrong too, but I agree with you. I think Lewis is a great driver, but I think he’s not as quick as he was in the past (whether that’s age or the change in regulations). Leclerc also has the advantage of being the incumbent driver in the team, while Lewis has to forge new relationships, understand a different way of working, and the cultural differences compared to his old team, so I suspect will slightly edge Lewis.
Add to this Ferrari’s recent poor record of managing strategy (especially where two drivers are evenly matched), I don’t have much faith Ferrari can deliver a title to either driver, unless the car is far better than the opposition.
anon
7th January 2025, 18:15
@dbradock to that end, Magnussen has been talking about some of the handling traits of the current ground effect cars, and he was saying that the current ground effect cars tend to require a very specific style of driving.
He noted that the current cars respond quite poorly to late braking, and also respond poorly to combined cornering and braking forces (i.e. if a driver were blending off the brake pedal as they turned into the corner). Instead of trying to maximise the apex speed through the corner by adopting a smoother line, Magnussen stated that the current cars put more of an emphasis on taking a V-shaped line through the corner (i.e. sharp and aggressive steering movements that minimise the amount of time turning the car and prioritising getting on the throttle as soon as possible out of the corner).
Whilst Ricciardo was perhaps the most extreme example of a driver whose driving style was particularly ill-suited to the current cars, Magnussen did also talk about it being a trait that probably doesn’t particularly suit either himself or Hamilton either, who tend towards the former style of driving, and tending to more suit drivers like Norris or Verstappen instead, whose driving styles tend towards V-shape cornering lines.
someone or something
7th January 2025, 13:02
I have to admit that made me laugh.
Not so much about the “rent-a-quote brigade” though.
Monosodico (@monosodico)
7th January 2025, 16:39
Is there any relevance in highlighting that the birthday cake is vegan?
David BR (@david-br)
7th January 2025, 17:03
@monosodico I read that as ‘evidence’ (not relevance) the first time, which still applies I guess. Actually, I need proof there was cake full stop.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
7th January 2025, 18:18
Of course – it means Roscoe, the vegan dog, can have some.
Mal Ross (@malross)
10th January 2025, 7:44
No, it smells of cheap mockery to me. Which would be a shame, as I thought Keith was better than that.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
7th January 2025, 16:43
Could he? – Yes
Will he? – Probably not
Would be nice to see him in a championship battle again, but I just can’t see it.
Mark (@blueruck)
8th January 2025, 1:48
concise +1
David BR (@david-br)
7th January 2025, 17:01
Firstly, any genuine Formula 1 fans should be excited about the prospect of seeing a multiple champion, still fast enough to win GPs, adapt to an entirely new car, engine, team, language and culture. Sure it’s a huge challenge but do we expect sports champions not to take those on? I can’t wait to see Hamilton driving out of the garage in a Ferrari for the first time. It’ll be iconic. Secondly, Hamilton or Leclerc? Absolutely no idea. Let’s be honest, nobody knows. If the car is fast and handles to his liking, yes, Hamilton can beat his team mate and possibly win another title. The apparent decline over the last 3 seasons, I suspect, is mostly down to the Mercedes design and lurking in his own head since the end of 2021. We’ll find out.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
7th January 2025, 22:22
I think leclerc should be stronger if he keeps this year’s consistency, which will see him 2nd in the driver’s rankings, but he’s historically been a bit error prone for a top driver, so will have to see if the 2024 form continues; I have no doubt hamilton can be stronger than he showed this year with a reset of everything, which he’s getting.
BMW P85 V10
7th January 2025, 18:15
I think he is to far off in qualifying for a while now. You can’t win championships while qualifying somewhere in the midfield. You can finish on the podium or even win races from the midfield. But you won’t be a title contender if you ruin your qualification that often as Lewis deed over the last year.
Especially his qualifications at street circuits show he’s losing sharpness in qualifications. He still can be genuinely fast in races though. I doubt that will be enough to beat his team mate.
Robert Williams (@weiliwen)
7th January 2025, 18:22
You should have put a poll here, Keith! I do believe that if Hamilton can get comfortable with the Ferrari sharpish, he can beat Leclerc AND win a WC.
MichaelN
7th January 2025, 20:17
If can match his Sunday performances on Saturday, maybe. You can’t win titles starting from P5 when your rivals are on the front row.
In any case, Leclerc will want to underline his #1 status ASAP because if there’s even the tiniest hint that both Ferrari drivers have a chance at the title, one imagines a phonecall from Mr. Elkann to Mr. Vasseur about the ‘unique opportunities’ that a Hamilton win would present won’t be far away.
An Sionnach
7th January 2025, 22:22
I think Lewis can do this. If he’s much further back than sixth then he is in trouble, however.
An Sionnach
7th January 2025, 22:23
If he can be race-focused, while always making Q3, I think he’ll do well.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
7th January 2025, 22:25
Yes, agree about the unique opportunies of a hamilton win: first to get 8 titles, first in a long time to win titles with 3 different teams and as the article says first to win a title over 40 in 60 years, which is a very long time in f1 history.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
7th January 2025, 22:43
Undoubtedly. The bigger question is whether Ferrari has another championship in them.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
8th January 2025, 1:15
He definitely has what it takes to win championships still but it won’t be easy. I’m just so excited for this season to begin. I envisage a classic McLaren vs Ferrari with plenty of infighting in each camp given the high calibre of all 4 drivers. Who knows where Red Bull will land but if the back end of last season is anything to go by, I expect Max to be a regular podium finisher and he’ll probably snag the odd win.
An Sionnach
8th January 2025, 4:47
Happy birthday, Lewis.
Edvaldo
8th January 2025, 14:50
There’s a reason most drivers are retired by this age, and some of them said it was because age does start to weigh on their performance. Trying to keep up with extra work brings diminished returns with time, and in the end, you’re working more for nothing, because it still won’t be enough, something like that.
Hamilton is still one of the best, but it will be difficult to beat the younger drivers on similar machines not facing these issues.
entah
9th January 2025, 12:29
+1
BenHur
9th January 2025, 16:36
One lucky podium, tops