Hamilton to Ferrari confirmed

Well, I'm surprised for sure. I'm not sure that Hamilton is up for Ferrari. I do think his best days are long gone. At Mercedes - he was the center of attention. at Ferrari, it will be Ferrari 1st... Unless he somehow is able to change all that like Schumacher but I have my doubts. He does not speak Italian, nor to my knowledge want to live in Italy... ( Monaco I guess is 40 Min by Plane - 1.5 hours in Heli ) ... so we'll see. I have respect for Hamiltons acheivments, but I also think they were in the best car of the day. For Ferrari, I fear they think a great driver is going to solve their issues ... been there done that for 50 years... I doubt it will work. I'm Happy to be wrong.

 

What a travesty.

 

They have a growing Charles as a top driver.
Where’s the risk ?
I only see benefits for the team and Charles.
He’s a racer and needs new motivations like Michael or Alonso already demonstrated.

 

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In my opinion, this potential move has nothing to do with "winning" ... it's all about "branding".

Ferrari hasn't won a championship in what ... 17 years? Doesn't seem to be hurting the Ferrari "brand".
Hamilton hasn't won a championship (or a race) in a few years ... doesn't seem to be hurting the Hamilton "brand".

This would be a marriage of "brands" ... nothing more. More fans come to the sport, who know nothing about the sport.

The Fchat forum won't have any unprecedented meltdowns because most of us still care about "racing" more than "branding". Social media will explode, Ferrari's "brand" is elevated.

The needle of Ferrari's actual race performance will hardly move a tick.

 

The ONLY positive point about Hamilton to Ferrari is that Schumi's 7 WDC record will not be beaten by Hamilton anymore. Good job to maintain Schumi's legacy.

Ferrari needs top engineers and strategists. When the car is superior, most drivers can win a championship, see Button. So why spend all the money to get Hamilton?

Conclusion: I don't see Ferrari will ever win a championship again.

 

THIS HAD ME THINKING IT WAS APRIL FOOLS DAY

 

As a person who is just an F1 fan, I just root for interesting.

And this, this, is interesting.

 

So they perhaps expect Charles to leave…? I know Sainz apparently is leaving. What about Charles. Is he eyeing Audi ?

 

Ferrari's shares have increased 8.8% due to the news......that's over 5 Billion Euros in market cap. Investors are happy.

 

Don’t think so.
Vasseur is building the team around him, why leaving ?

 

Good,
More money to design a brand new NA V12 for the road !

 

It's going to be very awkward at Mercedes with Ham driving a lame duck season. Shades of Alonso at Renault winning a title, then leaving, and we all remember how that turned out.

This decision seems impulsive from Hamilton and a brand based, instead of performance based decision from Ferrari.

 

Vasseur wants Hamilton for his branding and the engineers he can bring with him, not because he think Ham is still in his prime and can beat Max in a title fight.

 

Max keeps winning on track, Hamilton AND Ferrari keep winning on social media

Ferrari introduces a whole new line of Hamilton apparel ... and can't keep the shelves stocked! (Remember ... Ferrari gets more revenue (and profit) from apparel and accessories now, than car sales).

Investors see this as a HUGE win, even if Ferrari's chances of actually winning races in F1 don't improve a bit.

 

This feels like Michael Jordan going to the Wizards.

 

Sorta

More like Jordan going to the Lakers or Celtics.

 

Formula One isn't about "racing" anymore ... at all. Hasn't been, for years (maybe decades).

Let that really sink in ... and this move makes perfect sense.

 

From a business point of view it’s a no brainer for both parties… let’s see on the track, but can’t wait to 2025, hopefully they find a way to bring this forward to 2024 some time.

 

Why on earth would he want to be along side Elton Hamdashian ??

 

For having been wrong so many times with my predictions i will be a lot more cautious on this one..

 

Again he won 7 WDC and more than 100gps..
He surely has something to offer to the Scuderia isn't it ?

 

He's just doing it so he can wear that cutting edge ferrari fashion....

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sjd

 

Wolff has apparently held an all employee meeting a short time ago and announced that Hamilton is leaving Merc.

 

Good points. The impact that Sir Lewis Hamilton has on F1 may surpass any other driver.