Hamilton joins Ferrari from 2025!

[Nitrodaze]

Extented article on Hamilton-Ferrari move here

[Bagwan]

Good for Lewis , for snagging all this cash in the deal , but I don't think he and Chuck will get along , so I don't see a smooth ride at all .

They are too alike in my eyes .

If Ferrari stock is up that much because of this , it is now time to sell .

[F1nKS]

Wow, what a way to kick off the 2024 with "Silly Season 2024".

I'm not surprised. I had seen some hints from stories covering Sainz negotiations with Ferrari (but there is always misinformation and posturing). Sainz had to feel like he had been punched in the gut. His performance was just as good as Leclerc's, and if they ever got a car to challenge Red Bull, Ferrari would be in a good place to take the championship with relatively young drivers.

Of course, if they get a good car, Hamilton is going to win with it. It will be interesting to see the direction that Mercedes goes to fill his seat.

[Used to be Starter]

It will be interesting to see the direction that Mercedes goes to fill his seat.

That may be one of the more interesting stories of 2024.

[Nitrodaze]

That may be one of the more interesting stories of 2024.

Along with what the dynamics between Russell and Hamilton would look like on track this season. I am expecting some fireworks.

[airshifter]

I still see it as a strange move unless Lewis just wants a shot at another title... soon. With the rules shake up coming in '26 the field could change considerable from the current.

As for teams listening to drivers, I really don't see it as a point myself. ALL the drivers want the fastest car, and ALL the teams want it as well. But other than input on what already exists, no driver on the grid is an Adrian Newey.

[The Black Knight]

If after a year of failing to make a car faster you don't listen when a driver of Hamilton's calibre turns around to you and says there's fundamental issues with a car and it had gone in the wrong direction then, to be frank, you deservefail.

And clearly they were wrong considering they admitted it later.

Is Hamilton a Newey? No. That doesn't mean he can't tell with 30+ years of experience of driving different cars that there are fundamental design issues present and clearly he was right.

[airshifter]

The fundamental issue is that the car isn't fast enough to win most of the time. Any driver with experience can point those kinds of things out. But if they can't identify in specific what is wrong, they are really of no use in leading the team in the right direction. For all we know all of the teams have missed in some of the fundamentals of this spec, and performance should be significantly higher than what RB is experiencing. But the reality is that performance is measured through the field of competitors, and that Merc just isn't on the very top.

In a new and much most complex formula the fact that some of the best engineers in the world can't get it right all the time proves to me that the driver input is nothing but a gauge of where the car sits in the field. Had the W13 and W14 dominated the races, I'd bet that the input from the drivers would be that development in that direction needed to continue.

[Matthew]

After seeing the win for Carlos Sainz at Australia GP, the Ferrari management must be thinking about their decision of replacing him with Hamilton after this season.

[Nitrodaze]

After seeing the win for Carlos Sainz at Australia GP, the Ferrari management must be thinking about their decision of replacing him with Hamilton after this season.

I seriously doubt that. They probably would ponder whether they let the right driver go for a very brief moment and move on. When it comes to winning titles, Sainz is unproven and Hamilton is a sure thing. Not having the car to make a mark in the last three years does not make Hamilton a lesser driver than the one who won seven world championship titles. If you know anything about F1, the thought would not cross your mind. Except those Hamilton haters amongst us of course.