Motorsport columnist Matt Bishop recounts old Lewis Hamilton conversation from 9 years ago where he spoke of Ferrari move
Lewis Hamilton has captured the audience with his magnanimous wins but now, Charles Leclerc will have to adjust to his star power too.
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Matt Bishop and Lewis Hamilton (via X)
Lewis Hamilton has been the talk of the F1 town for the last few days, and no, it is not because he has broken another one of Michael Schumacher‘s racing records. The Mercedes racer had actually not been able to win a single Grand Prix since scoring his 104th win in 2021. Currently, the Briton is going through a career slump but things might soon look positive for him as he just signed a multi-year contract with Scuderia Ferrari to drive for them in the 2025 season and further.
Lewis Hamilton has been a devoted Mercedes main man for 11 years, and the move to one of the Silver Arrows’ biggest rivals was not at all expected from. While some bits and pieces of rumors did make rounds in F1 town, noone paid any heed because, as Lewis Hamilton’s old teammate Valtteri Bottas said, most of the people ‘could not imagine it’. But now, the deal is sealed, the official statements of all the involved parties have been released. And this has taken F1 columnist Matt Bishop back to those days when he chatted with Lewis in Japan and got to know about his Ferrari aspirations.
Ferrari are the oldest and most successful F1 team in history, and most racers often harbor the dream of driving for them. Even though Lewis Hamilton has gotten 7 World Championships without having ever been in the Scuderia, he has expressed the interest way before.
9 long years ago, in a bar in Tokyo, he told me about his Ferrari plans. I’ve kept the secret until now. Lewis had said, "Yeah. That would be a great way to end my F1 career, wouldn’t it? To win championships for McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari?"Matt Bishop recounts Lewis Hamilton’s honest confession about Ferrari, via X.
Mercedes’ junior prodigy Kimi Antonelli is being thought as Hamilton’s replacement
Now that Lewis Hamilton is going to move from Mercedes to Ferrari, there are several talented racers who wish to take up the seat he is leaving at Mercedes. While Daniel Ricciardo might not be able to take it since Helmut Marko revealed he has a Red Bull contract in place, there is Alex Albon who has already reportedly made a play for getting Mercedes’ attention.
On the other hand, an up-and-coming racer who is currently employed in Formula 2, Kimi Antonelli, can also make a debut with the Silver Arrows in Lewis’ place. Kimi Antonelli’s name is being thrown around a lot as he has shown prodigious talent by claiming several karting Championships as well as the German and Spanish F4 titles. He skipped F3 altogether as Mercedes decided he is ready to contest for DAMS in FIA Formula 2.
In the upcoming days, it is believed that the driver situation in Formula 1 will only get more complicated as several racers will see their existing contracts come to an end. It remains to be seen if there will be any tectonic shifts in the F1 world like it happened when Lewis Hamilton announced he is moving to Ferrari.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)