Vettal has spoken out. I'm sure there are others. As for the ones who don't speak out I would say they don't feel strongly about it, or they wish to please all people, I don't know.
Or maybe they are respectful enough to the sport, the fans and their employer to not preach their beliefs at work? Vettel didn't get vocal until Lewis paved the way, and his voice wasn't nearly as loud. He stood up for a clean environment and bees. He picked up trash and built some beehives. Not quite the same level.
Maybe they have no agenda to push, some drivers are ok with society for the most part. We don't know.
Believe what you want to believe I guess. If you think Hamilton is the only human in F1 with an opinion about anything "important", then go ahead.
I watch F1 to be entertained by a sport, not be lectured on [insert issue] by some ****ing millionaire.
All of us do. I wish I can watch a F 1 race with my son and don't have to hear Max cursing and calling other drivers idiots. I wish I can watch F1 without seeing Schumacher putting another drivers life in danger. I wish I can come to Fchat and talk F1 without hearing a bunch of men whining about one driver. I wish many things but it's not my world. I don't cry about it. I forgot about the activism, you guys are more passionate discussing the topic more than Sir Lewis Hamilton is at this point.
BTW, the rumor is that he is considering writing his driver's memoirs; he might even have already started. Rgds
Source in the interesting interview in the link here-under « And finally, Prost is ready to tell his side. He’s finishing his own (French) documentary and has plans to write a book. » https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/march-2024/50/alain-prost-interview-it-sounds-like-a-joke-but-im-completely-underrated/ Rgds
What Ferrari will end up doing is losing Leclerc and they'll be saddled with an old driver way past his prime. Ferrari are allergic to championships.
If Vasseur managed to build a very competitive team mid term your statement will have no reality. All the drivers would want to drive for a competitive Scuderia.
And they're paying 400+ million for the privilege of ****ing themselves into oblivion. That money could've been spend getting the actual dream team together engineers wise. Drivers aren't Ferrari's problems. It's always been engineers and organization. The only time it wasn't that it was a dream team together with the best driver that could unite both the engineers, organization and crew. If Leclerc doesn't beat Lewis he's gone. Lewis only has a couple more years in him. Ferrari ends up having pissed 450 million against the wall (sure, they'll make most if not all of it back in hat sales), no drivers, and just look like a big joke. Who has faith in them anymore in being a serious F1 team? They could've build the dream team and would have the top drivers knocking down the door to drive for them instead, IF Leclerc would leave for whatever reason. Image Unavailable, Please Login
If I'm not mistaken, drivers' salaries do not count towards the budget cap while engineers' salaries do. And in some aspect (underfloor aero) it is not certain if the very best people could be bought. In other areas Ferrari has spend their money rather well - it is no accident that they managed to close the PU power gap rather quickly.
They are the only F1 team and engine supplier that DID NOT adopt the split turbo design like Mercedes, Honda(2017) and Renault(2017) under the current turbo-hybrid era. Since 2014 we've been at this turbo hybrid formula. Ferrari engines are also most used per season as for component allocation allotment by Ferrari and their customer teams. Money could have been well spent in this dept but no. Ferrari has great qualifying speed but lose race pace. Tire degradation is also a problem in all compounds.
Um, Vasseur IS building a team of great engineers. Do you guys think that happens overnight? It took Todt several years to get the likes Byrne and Costa and lower level recruits. Ferrari have recruited Loic Serra, in addition to lower RB and Mercedes staff, and I'd wager Hamilton coming over are going to bring yet more. As for Leclerc, he's the master of his own destiny. All of this panic over him is unfounded. It's time for him to stop making mistakes and produce. If he can't beat Hamilton straight up in equal cars, that's on him, and would demonstrate he's not title material no matter what happens. I'd argue this puts far more pressure on Hamilton that Leclerc, and the latter has more to win than the former. Because if Leclerc wipes the floor with Hamilton in head to head results, it will tarnish the latter's GOAT standing, as it did for Schumi when Rosberg bested him, or ... when Leclerc reduced Vettel to a shell of his former self. Whereas, if Leclerc gets beaten he can go along with the "well, Ham is the GOAT! Everyone would get beaten by him" hype. Leclerc clearly needs a kick the ass to be motivated to race with his head. When Sainz came back from the summer break and got a victory and two poles, suddenly Leclerc seemed concerned about his standing, and put together one of the best runs of his career against the 'also rans' with 4 podiums, 8 top 5's, and 3 poles. He should welcome the opportunity to show the fans his competitiveness against Hamilton, even if the latter is older now. OTOH, if Hamilton begins winning and challenges for a title at Ferrari instead of Leclerc, well, that hats off to Hamilton for proving age is just a number, imho.
No pressure on Hamilton whatsoever. Even IF he loses to Leclerc, he's laughing all the way to the bank. Hamilton will be the highest paid F1 driver in 2025 and 2026 without winning a WDC title since 2020.
It’s amazing that some here think Ferrari did a “pay Lewis or assemble a superstar team…can’t do both” mentality. The Hamilton hire has NO effect on what Ferrari can/will spend on engineers/tech/etc.
