Hamilton to Ferrari confirmed

On one hand, maybe Hamilton being clearly "one of the greats" might have some influence on the team to straighten up. Seems like a lot of silly mistakes have cost them in the past few years.

I'm trying to think positively...

 

Scuderia Ferrari confirms that Lewis Hamilton will join the team in 2025

 

Inquiring minds want to know whose Cheerios Sainz and co. pissed in for things to go so wrong for him.

 

LOL hey don't make me spill my drink

 

Lewis is 39 years old. IF he gets a Ferrari ride he will be maybe 42? How many F1 drivers in modern times have been competitive at that age? This is a terrible waste of a driver position who has demonstrated that he has lost a half step at best and brings with him all the woke crap. I wish him well but getting fired from Ferrari as you last stop on the grid doesn't sound like smart move for either party.

 

And money...

 

My turn for a question It's somewhat, but not completely, hypothetical:

Let's say the stewards were to release a statement to the press, confirming that, because of "political correctness" (or wokeness, or DEI within F1), they will never penalize Hamilton. Or, worst case, the penalties for his infractions will be much lighter than those for other drivers. Many of us here, would find ourselves not liking Hamilton very much because of this state of affairs within F1.

Question for you: Would you be dismissive of this reason for disliking Hamilton, because personal politics have nothing to do with his performance on-track? Would you be dismissive of this reason for disliking Hamilton, because we have another forum for politics here on F-chat?

My point should be clear: Many of us don't dislike Hamilton because he's expected to vote differently than us in the next election. We dislike Hamilton because his entitlement, his wokeness, his emphasis on fashion, etc etc absolutely spill over into the sport, his driving style, and his incessant blaming and berating of his team.

In short: It's not Hamilton's critics that confuse his off-track persona with his on-track behavior. Hamilton himself blurs that line, without any help from us!

 

These guys weren't too bad...


Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

After todays stock price due to earnings and the signing of Hamilton, Ferrari can afford 500 Hamiltons at 50 million a piece. Hamiltons salary is a drop in the bucket.

Can you see the advertising of merchandise that Hamilton will bring to the Scuderia.

 

A faux pas, I think. He's on his way out and is not a good team player, he won't bring much. The only good thing is that he has some leverage on FIA and they need someome to beat Red Bull if they don't want TV ratings crashing more. So maybe some "grey areas" that usually wouldn't be allowed to Ferrari will be perfectly legit.

 

I'm not saying you are not right, because you are, but isn't the same result achievable if they win the world title? And would sacking Sainz for Hamilton really help that?

As for clothes - Ferrari already sacked their merchandise to make stupid overpriced ugly clothes (one of the many absurd Elkann decisions), so I'm not really sure how much profit will be made there purely because of Hamilton. But at least he can wear them and he will not look less ridiculous when he enters the paddock....

 

That's what I base my statement of "Lewis knows something we don't" on. Even though Mercedes was on the rise in 2012, no fan knew that Mercedes would be so dominant in 2014. Thus I think Lewis had some inside info about the Mercedes PU. Thus I think maybe Ferrari have something brewing for 2026.

 

With regards to merchandise, I'm talking about F1 apparel and merchandise with Hamiltons name or the #44 on the apparel or merchandise.

This is a brand (Ferrari) plus brand (Hamilton) win in the pockets of Ferrari....and it's alot of money for Ferrari.

 

I absolutely wouldn't be surprised if Ferrari wants to add more diversity to the people buying Ferrari's. All over social media you see his followers with Lambos and Mercedes, but how many in Ferrari's? Maybe Ferrari want to tap into that market.

 

Hamilton has ALOT of followers so most definitely Ferrari will tap into that market.

Even if Ferrari loses on the track with Hamilton, Ferrari's F1 merchandise sales with Hamiltons name or number will sell in the tens of millions because of Hamiltons followers so when it comes to the "BRAND" Ferrari wins on the money side.....more so than Leclerc IMO.

 

100%. Like him or hate him, Hamilton is a marketable more than any other driver in F1.

It makes me sad that teams will bring in drivers based on how it improves company profits or sales vs whats best to win races and championships.

 

....becasue Visa Cash App made how many road cars last year?

 

There are emails?

 

Never thought I’d see the day when a bunch of F1 fans positively discuss a driver based on how many clothes they can sell or how many fans they have instead of winning the Championship

Is Kathleen Kennedy scripting all this for DTS?!?

Someone wake me from this nightmare!

 

You haven't been reading the HAM is god thread, have you?

 

I don't think Ferrari making more money on clothing has anything to do in this consideration.
F1 is about racing, not the Stock Exchange. I am fed up to the teeth hearing how much Ferrari makes on the market, how many points they gain, bla, bla, bla. I am a racing enthusiast, not a stock brocker.
Ferrari makes enough money as it is; they have a huge, huge profit margin on the cars they sell, and they could produce more if they wanted. That's not the point. They want to limit their production to keep their desirability and stay a luxury brand that people queue up to by at almost any price. John Elkann & Co are sitting on a gold mine at Ferrari. That's one thing, but it's not relevant when discussing F1.
The racing branch, the Scuderia is self-sufficient and has for years never been lacking of money. Now with the budget cap, they receive enough through their historical fees, and the redistribution money to cover more than they are allowed to spend; that's even before the sponsorships they attract. Firms pay lots of money to have small stickers put on Ferrari race cars. What Ferrari has been lacking is results, because of management instability, and cars not good enough to win. Ferrari is the living proof that it's not how much money you have, but how you spend it . They have in the past being beaten by teams that had a fraction of their budget (Cooper, Tyrrell, Benetton, Brawn). That's all we should be interested in when assessing Ferrari's place in F1, and not how many T-shirts, scarves of hat they sell !! Who gives a flick about that, I ask !!!

 

Mercedes tolerated Hamilton's public criticism of their team in a way that Ferrari historically can't. Sure, when things are good with Hamilton, they're great. BUT, what happens when struggles follow, and Hamilton begins criticizing the team and insulting Ferrari's cars in public? Again, Mercedes and McLaren have a culture of thick skin that can take it, but Ferrari historically don't, even if Elkan doesn't care. I can imagine the morale of the Mercedes team is not great when Hamilton trashes the car and strategists in public, 7X or not.

I think the situation is less about Ferrari signing Hamilton, and more about Hamilton pissing Mercedes off to a point that they were willing to let him go, and that's what's concerning about all this to me.

 

Best way to approach anything actually! The stock loves the idea so far.

 

Yes William, I totally agree. There's on track performance which I'm fully aware of with the Scuderia which should take precedence as being a true F1 fan.

However, stock price fluctuations and F1 clothing apparel with regards to Hamilton being with Scuderia at the moment also brings a substantial amount of profit to Ferrari as well....more so probably than Leclerc and Sainz combined. That's fine if you don't feel the need to follow that side of the business or you have no interest in it.

 

Liberty has established an economic platform for teams overall. Value and future, actual profitability. Lets hope we have good racing. LH has stayed with Mercedes a long time, years. What more can a driver do when offered a seat at Ferrari. You take it and ensure further history/legacy tied to the marque. Good for him. He has made astute moves that are normally a surprise and often rated to be against the tides in F1.