Just counting the past 10 years there have been many times drivers has left teams. Its so common for drivers to switch teams there is a thread - silly season dedicated to it. You saying that any driver who left a team for a better opportunity are not loyal and has no integrity? Drivers are not hired to build struggling teams. Drivers are hired for driving talent, not a talent for building teams. Other people get paid lots of money to do that.
I blame Lewis's huge desire to be famous and be in the spotlight as much as possible as the main reason for his large amount of "none" motorsports fan base. No other driver turns up at every race dressed like a clown purely for attention. He attracts many people that otherwise would be only paying attention to folks like the Kardashians or main media Football players ( Soccer). And of course its changed days as F1 has become a different beast since Drive to Survive has opened the sport to many more none motorsports people, but i would argue Drive to Survive has also made people fans of other less known drivers that never had or wanted the spotlight before ( Danny, Carlos, Charles, Lando and lets not forget Gunther are all much more popular from DTS). Sales for Silverstone have been a lot lot slower the last few years, and this year again, i wonder why? A few years back it would be practically sold out within a month of the tickets being released. I have been around and deep within Max's orange army many times now, at many races. In recent years i have done Austria, Hungaroging and went to Zandvoort last year which apart from the weather was honestly brilliant. Never once have I seen any problems or trouble. The complete opposite is true in fact. Yes people were drinking a lot, but the mood has always been jovial and fun. It always feels like a big inclusive party for all, no mater who you are showing support for. My buddy, my chick and me were in the middle of the orange army infield grandstand wearing our Ferrari kit - Austria 2022 when Leclerc just beat Max to win the race on the Sunday. The Dutch fans next to us we were sharing beer runs and having banter with asked to swap our Ferrari caps for their Max caps after Charles won, which we happily did. This year we plan to take the cars and do Hungaroring then Spa, back to back (via the Nürburgring of course), and the huge amount of Max's orange army being there partying making an atmosphere is a big factor for us wanting to go to these races.
The difference is, Hamilton publicly always talks up his good guy personal loyalties when it suits him. And what he did to his father is just wrong, as that for me is not a business move, that's his own father. Just wait, its only a matter of time before Lewis starts publicly lying "Since I was a kid I have supported Ferrari, I always dreamt of wanting to drive for the Red cars since he was 6 years old...."
Assuming he doesn’t face too much resistance at Ferrari and that is never a given , being part of a winning team and a well oiled outfit for a number of years , he should be a very positive influence and should have valuable input . it won’t take long to see if he is bringing harmony or discord .i will be curious to see how much slack he will get and how he will react if they put him on a leash
Re: the toxic LH44 fan base, a big part of it as said before, is the narcissistic mob mentality behind him. "You don't like Lewis? You must be a racist" kinda crowd. Don't ever point out his mistakes (see Silverstone 2021). I personally never liked Mercedes AMG Petronas and Toto specifically, maybe because Toto believed his leverage in F1 and his 7 years of dominance was to be continued forever for the sakes of Formula 1 ever existing. The Lewis and Toto combo was a bit insufferable. Glad to see it part ways. I'm sure the fan base (which automatically condemned Russell for not being a team player) is half and half regretting the move, and the other happy to see their hero perhaps dominate with different machinery. I'm kinda mixed with Red Lewis, because I don't want to see this toxicity in the Scuderia. First few races and tests and Bahrain 2025 would probably be a good test of where the partnership is headed.
Easy YES! He would not be lying - every boy racer wants to drive for every great race team, forever, at the same time.
I voted yes. It just shakes things up, Ferrari needs to do something different. Yes, ultimately they need to improve their technical and strategy game but it's good to bring on a world champion, to hopefully pair with a solid car and team in 2025. I feel bad for Carlos but stuff happens. He has another year to drive for SF, we'll see how it plays out.
That's pretty harsh. Kind of like saying you're not going to support your favorite football team because you're not a big fan of the quarterback. Or, as a stretch, you're not going to support your country because you rather see someone else sitting in the oval office. So if Lewis finishes with more points than LeC, let alone wins a World Championship for Ferrari, that would not be something to applaud?
I’m not a LH fan; his antics are annoying, although his whining on the radio is a source of continued entertainment during the less exciting races. I see this as a fantastic opportunity to have our own social experiment in talent versus technology… Detractors here have said time and again that when LH was winning, it was the car. Now, he gets to go head to head with LeClerc in essentially the same machine & we’ll see how much it’s the car versus driving skill. Who will do best with the same machine? Who will work with their techs to improve the car to their specifications? Lots of ways to slice a comparison that is much more apples-to-apples now. LeClerc will have the edge in youth, reaction times and probably stamina. LH, like Alonso, will have old age and treachery on his side. Maybe LeClerc will learn how to drive with sharper elbows, and he and LH will keep Max busy in tandem. I see more of a Rosberg-like situation, where both drivers want to be number one. How Vasseur handles that, how the pair develop their cars “as a team", how they race against one another and the field, and how Max and whoever takes Perez’ s place fight back will bring some much needed interest. If the cars get smaller and passing once again can occur every once in awhile, this drama will be way better than some of the snorefests of recent years.
I wouldn’t be part of that celebration. Ferrari doesn’t get a pass because of a long term relationship with me as a fan or owner. I haven’t been an nfl fan since the last 10 years because of their ridiculous politics. I would feel the same toward a team if their QB had the baggage and BS with Hamilton. sports and Ferrari spa should be held accountable for poor decisions. I won’t be blindly buying a purosangre either. So if the company makes a big enough shift away from what I connect with, I’ll take my money and interest elsewhere. country - No comparison to Ferrari or sport. I’m a military veteran so I view supporting our constitution and country as a totally different focus. Robb
I hate his off track antics but I will support him as a Ferrari driver. Most important thing is the Scuderia.
Voted yes … I want to see what happens..lol. I like Carlos though…like the team as is….but it will make things interesting. Just wait for the super odd funky Ferrari Hamilton clothing line….lol.lol.lol
Bellissimo! LH is an 8x WDC (according to ... Charles) who will bring/question the discipline of the team at every step. A Positive. Charles and Carlos have been complaining about lack of team discipline since day two. Frederic had a successful working relationship with LH early in their careers. Another Positive. With his technical background, Elkann will want to see the performance potential Scuderia engineers claim to be converted into reality by a WDC who has experienced a range of quality (including not so good) F1 racing machines. Positive. Charles thought he was the #1 Driver....well, he is. LH is just not #2. Team will have to sort this out clearly otherwise: Negative. Top UK F1 Engineers have 10 months to inquire about warm winter italian housing. Positive. Scuderia will turn them all down. Negative. LH is moving from a brand that exemplifies class and luxury to a brand that screams performance and fashion. He fits into each better than most of the F1 drivers. Mutually beneficial to him and the Company. Neutral. My southern italian famiglia is welding a new front wing for the '25 car made of iron and sharpened to, uuh, slice through the air... but, not the rear tires of RB1. No, wouldn't even consider it. Veni Vidi Vici
I didn't support the Alonso side of the garage when he was there and lived through it. Not a hamilton fan so not happy with it. I struggle to see how Ferrari (team) fans will enjoy this as well. He's partnering with Charles. It'll be fireworks. The likelihood of Ferrari building a world beater car where 2 number ones can duke it out for the title in the same team without the guy behind stealing the title away is absolutely marginal, especially when you consider how often has a car like that been build? And how often has a car like that been build by Ferrari? It's in the low single digits over the entire history of F1. Assuming the 25 and 26 cars are competitive enough to make a bid for the title, Ferrari will absolutely fail in winning the drivers title. Lewis isn't going to give up his shot at #8, Charles isn't going to give up his chance at #1. Ferrari isn't capable of managing the two correctly (lets be honest, no one could be). They will take points away from each other and Max will take another title. Mark my words. If you look at social media right now the LecFosi and Cult44 are already tearing each others heads of and it's not even been a day. What a great investment this looked to be when that happens. Image Unavailable, Please Login I'm sure Ferrari will sell a lot of shirts and hats though.
Same mentality from Max Verstappen fans "The Orange Army" at different European GPs, And traditionally you can have a hard time from the army of Tifosi at Monza if you fon't cheer for Ferrari ! That's why I am not in favour of wearing team regalia that put people at risk from over-enthusiast fans.
Despite I´ve voted no, I´d support the team even if their driver line up was Adolf Hitler (HIT) and Iosif Stalin (STA). Go #TeamAF88 and #uncle_joe_official
I largely agree with everything you said. However, I think that much of the animosity stems from the very real possibility that the team crashes and burns as a result of this bombastic decision. It’s too knee-jerk to say “I’m not a Ferrari fan anymore,” before the first race of 2025. That said, if the team does collapse, Ferrari will have no one to blame but themselves and those angry fans will be vindicated.
Different stokes for different folks, I guess. That mentality is completely alien to me. (Look at post #44). I watch F1 to enjoy it, not to take side. I have no allegiance to anything.
So Hamilton is gonna have to get used to: Hamilton: "My tires are gone!" Ferrari: "We are checking..............." Hamilton: "Is it Hammer-time yet?" Ferrari: "We are checking............."
I perfectly got your point William, Long time ago.. No problem On top of that you don’t know my own family story. This is more personal and I won’t elaborate further.
