>> >> So 80 mil salary with 20 max as bonus. then 250 for his own brand. Absolute lunacy. Elkann and Lewis seem made for each other though.
They've tried recruiting the best with copious and ludicrous amounts of money.....the fact of the matter is, the best don't want to move to Italy to include their family. Great Britain is the "silicon valley" of F1 hence an extremely and talented talent pool of engineers, strategists, and anything else having to do with F1.
So Toto wasn't going to budge from his salary requirements to Lewis so Lewis sought what he wanted from Ferrari. That's what this is about really.
At least we can now dispense with silly notions that Hamilton has some secret insider info about the 2026 car ... This was NEVER about racing, this was NEVER about competing on track and winning. This was ALWAYS about image, branding, merchandising ... and $$$$, of course.
This looks similar to Hamilton's demands to Mercedes to renew his contract; terms that Toto refused. Finally both parties settled at the last minute for lower terms, which must have left Hamilton frustrated. It seems that John Elkan gave the green light for the Scuderia to accept Hamilton's extraordinary request. I am still wondering what Ferrari will get out of this deal.
I don't blame Hamilton for looking after himself. But I question is why Ferrari accepted his inflated demands.
Why are diversity and inclusion bad words? Last time I checked they are not bad words at the dealership when taking people's money.
I gotta say I LOVE this thread. All the usuals have their panties tied in absolute WADS over Lewis....please keep it up!! Most fun I've had on Fchat in years.
Again William, you don't care or have no interests on this side of the business spectrum but this is a win-win situation for all parties involved from an image, branding and merchandising perspective. Huge money to be made for Ferrari.
I remember reading in the press (Guardian, or Telegraph), that Hamilton was looking for a donation from a big corporation to finance a Foundation he had started, promoting the inclusion of social minorities, etc ... Toto Wolff was supposed to relay those plans to the MB board as part of the contract renegotiations. That's why it took a long time before anything was signed, and the contract didn't include the $250M bit. Following this, Hamilton probably turned to Ferrari, and Elkann must have thought it was a good idea.
So, becoming the banker for Hamilton's social foundation to enhance his legacy will benefit the image of a luxury brand like Ferrari? Who would have thought of that !!!
Lewis has 8 million followers on his Twitter page.....more so than Leclerc and Sainz combined. This is the market Ferrari wants to tap into.
Good point. Ferrari (like every other company) has been using strategic marketing since they existed. All a sudden some see a problem with it.
Ah, that obsession with social media ... So, Ferrari is interested to tap on a market of millions of teenagers who spend their days keying an their smart phone which is an extention of themselves? Good luck to that !!!
Those teenagers buy merchandice , diecast etc, play racing games with Ferrari licensing, may go to F1 races, or maybe Ferrari customers when they grow up.
