Would more sponsors really be that important with a budget cap in place? I'm not sure anyone would jump ship with Hamilton to go to the dumpster fire that is Ferrari, but I suppose anything's possible.
Think about it logically. If Ferrari can attract plenty of sponsors, they will not only finance the whole F1 racing budget allowed, but also pay the drivers. Then the surplus is pure profit for Ferrari !! Ferrari is already receiving "seniority benefits" from Liberty. John Elkann is a businessman; when we think about F1 in terms of racing, he may well see it as a money-maker.
Well, Hamilton uses Ferrari once again to poker for a new contract with Merc. Or he is really serious about changing to the Scuderia. Formel 1: Lewis Hamilton vor Wechsel-Sensation? Es geht um 46 Millionen Euro! | Sport | BILD.de Today's headline on German Bild Zeitung
I don't really believe in being loyal to a team no matter what. A driver must do what is best for them to win races. But didn't Lewis say he was loyal to Mercedes and all that? I fail to see how this would even be a consideration to Lewis, he always makes decisions to put himself in the best car. Unless he knows something we don't (flashback to late 2012 maybe?). Sainz does have a contract with Ferrari through 2024. George Russell signed with Mercedes to be equal status as Lewis. Is Lewis running from George and thinks he can beat Sainz, or will get a #1 status contract once again? A lot of half a$$ theories to throw around just to try and make sense of it.
lol, good one... bargaining? I would think both teams would not want anything he has to offer, which is??
Exactly my opinion. Teams aren't loyal to drivers anyway: they dump them when it suit them. That's why I don't think drivers should sign long term contracts (more than 2 years). A driver has to think about his career, and look out for the best car year after year. Look at Fangio, 5WDCs in 4 different teams; I call that being hard-nosed.
Toto Wolff responds to the latest Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari ‘rumour’ Michelle Foster 4 hours ago Toto Wolff has rubbished claims that Lewis Hamilton could join Ferrari on a £40 million-per-season deal with the Mercedes motorsport boss, saying “none of this is true”.
And if it's for Leclerc...Ferrari signing Lewis means they'd have to pay a hefty breach of contract fee as well. So to hire Lewis would cost them 80 million at least. 80 million...and what exactly does Ferrari gain? Complaints and still the same result, at best.
I for one love to see Hamilton at Ferrari, but only if he plays tail gunner (Akin to Raikkonen during the Vet era). I think Hamilton is among the greatest, but his 'peak' is in the past Something I doubt he would be willing to do. So this is just positioning IMHO.
Amen (to the half a$$ theories)!! I trust the British tabloid press as much as I trust the U.S. press...not at all. Everyone knows Ferrari is a second away from a dumpster fire at any time. If I'm Hamilton, I want NONE of that.
First off, Lewis needs a car that's going to be superior right out of the box. He's always had that, and with the current Mercedes, he demonstrating that he's not too proficient in developing a mid-field contender. Seems the MB techs are the ones throwing all the tools at it. Second, Ferrari has yet to prove their organization structure competence. So ************ is nothing but noise.
Exactly. With the budget cap, more sponsors aren't going to make the car any faster. And given Ferrari's massive budget anyways...Even less of an impact. It's one thing for technical staff to follow Lewis to another team within the UK, it's a completely different aspect to move them across countries to a team which is notorious for sacking whoever they like based on which direction the wind blows. Housing, kids, schools, family...a whole lot of reasons why this is quite a hard move to make indeed.
Tail gunner for whom? Sainz? That's a #2 driver. If anything it'd be the other way around, Sainz would be the tail gunner for Lewis. But as I said, I think this is just Lewis using Ferrari leverage once again to get a better Merc deal. OTOH right now the Ferrari seems to be the better car, which is different from his contract negotiations in the past...
Ferrari would only benefit if they had Hamilton. Hamilton is more successfull than any other Ferrari driver is history. I feel it is all talk and he will remain with Mercedes.
I seriously doubt that. Hamilton had his time and success, but this is now in the past. I would not see any benefit for him going to Ferrari at this point in his career. At the same time, Ferrari needs to look at improving his cars, before hoping to challenge for a title again.
I don't see a benifit to him going to Ferrari either. But as a driver of his accomplishments and experience, I wouldn't say there is no beneifit for a team to have him. Scumacher was not at peak when he went to Mercedes.
Actually Lewis to Ferrari would give him the warm cozy sentiment of having been part of the scuderia. It's a myth and one that many drivers have succumbed to and I get it. He wouldn't be getting much additional results, maybe the occasional win here and there but why not? He already achieved everything and the Merc still looks like mid field and his #2 is outpacing him.
I don't think Hamilton would have much support at Ferrari, among tifosi or in the Italian press. He would be like in a shooting gallery, and everyone of his moves would be analysed and criticised. Like @palmito noted before, Ferrari isn't ready for this kind of diversity. That's not the ideal recipe to obtain result, but an unsettling environment to end a career. Hamilton has been with Mercedes for all his career, why end it in the opposition just to tick a box? I hope, for both parties, that such a move never happend.
It almost happened with Senna. It did happen with Alonso (who was much hated by the tifosi at the beginning) and it happened with Vettel. Just saying.
