By now, every Formula 1 fan has heard the news. Lewis Hamilton, the record-breaking driver and winner of seven driver’s championships, will leave Mercedes for the Ferrari team in 2025. Now, you might be asking yourself, what’s the big deal? Drivers changing teams isn’t unheard of, so what makes this specific move so special?
While that may be true, it’s important to note that this isn’t just any driver. This is Lewis Hamilton, the one tied with Micheal Schumacher for the most driver’s championships in history, the one with the record for the most race wins, pole positions and podium finishes, the one who’s a bona fide knight of the British order. It’s tough to make claims about who’s the greatest driver of all time, but Lewis Hamilton is certainly in consideration for the title. When someone with that impressive of a resume changes teams, it’s definitely worth noting.
It’s not just any team he’s moving to, either. Hamilton, who’s spent more than a decade at Mercedes and won eight constructor’s championships, announced that he’d be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari, a team with a legendary reputation and history. Seeing a driver leave a team they were loyal to for so long naturally brings about speculation regarding what may have prompted the move. A driver as successful as Hamilton likely won’t be motivated by just money. Instead, anything from Ferrari having a better car to simply the prestige of racing for such an iconic team may have been the true reason. It may even come down to the sheer status of the team.
“Simple, he’s driving in a Ferrari,” Lambert senior and Formula 1 fan Kirkland O’Neal exclaimed. “The status of Ferrari is something that is above any other Formula One team. To be in the same team as Senna, Schumacher, Prost and even Fangio is something other teams simply don’t have.”
No matter what the reason for the move, it can’t be denied that fans are certainly excited to see how the move affects the sport. But despite the sheer skill Hamilton displays and the prowess of Ferrari as a team, having won the most constructor championships in history, the move likely won’t lead either Hamilton or Ferrari to a championship win.
For one, Ferrari has been severely lacking in certain aspects these past few seasons. While drivers make up a large part of a team’s success, they aren’t everything. Ferrari’s strategy and core techniques are actually worse than Mercedes in some cases.
“Ferrari has some underlying issues that they need to address,” O’Neal explained. “strategy and pit stops, in recent years, they have always seemed to struggle with these two important areas…I would say Mercedes is better in both these aspects.”
Another issue the new Ferrari team would face is a new team dynamic. Formula 1 teams comprise of two drivers who must work together throughout the season. Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz, a longtime Ferrari driver who worked well with the other Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. The dynamic between Hamilton and Leclerc may be rocky, considering how well Hamilton’s predecessor worked with his teammate.
“Charles Leclerc performs well with a more supportive teammate, yet he has issues with a competitive teammate,” O’Neal added. “I don’t think the pairing of Leclerc and Hamilton will bode well for Leclerc, and I think he will suffer in the long term.”
It’s clear that the combination of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, while exciting, likely won’t lead either to a championship. Apart from the issues associated with the team and Hamilton’s move, the past few seasons have been largely dominated by Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team. The combination of Hamilton and Ferrari simply won’t be able to provide real competition to Verstappen, at least for now. It’s possible that in a few years, Hamilton will become accustomed to racing for Ferrari and end his career with another championship, but as for now, the combination seems to be based more on hype than actual substance.
