Analysis | Hamilton to Ferrari? Why he should/shouldn't!

Time and again, Lewis Hamilton and team boss Toto Wolff repeat the same old line: "Talks are ongoing, Hamilton will remain a Mercedes driver beyond this season," or something along those lines. Fact is: It is almost June and a new contract has still not been signed. Meanwhile, rumours are (again) surfacing about a switch to Ferrari. Should Hamilton leave for the Italians or is it smarter not to?

Hamilton must stay

Lewis Hamilton is a Mercedes man. The Briton has now spent 11 seasons with the German marque, and before that, he drove for McLaren for six seasons. That had a Mercedes engine at the time. Like no other, Hamilton is the Mercedes signboard, no doubt he will be associated with the brand for the rest of his life.

At the start of the 2024 season, Hamilton will have reached the respectable age of 39 and his chances of ever becoming world champion again are dwindling by the year. At the moment, Red Bull Racing is far too strong (for Mercedes as well as Ferrari), but given Mercedes' knowledge, that team seems best placed to narrow the gap to the team of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

The people at the helm of Mercedes have proven they can build a top car. It cannot be a hit every year, but the current leadership can be expected to eventually find the egg of Columbus. Admittedly, James Vowles left Brackley last winter, but for the rest, hardly anything has changed in the tightly managed organisation for years. Sure, Mike Elliott (CTO) and James Allison (technical director) changed positions recently, but that has been a smooth process. No familiarisation period (which takes time) has been necessary.

How different it is at Ferrari. In Maranello, it is once again an old-fashioned pigeonhole, where leading figures left and it proves rather complicated to contract people of level in their place (Red Bull Racing's much-desired top performers are not interested). Before Ferrari gets its organisation back in order, a lot of time is likely to have passed. Time that Hamilton does not have, because after one or maybe even two 'transition years', the end of his career does get very close.

Moreover, Hamilton does not fit into Ferrari's culture of chaos at all. Especially if the performance of the '24 Ferrari disappoints (not unrealistically so), you have no use for a Hamilton, who will probably only get annoyed.

Hamilton should switch

Every driver has THE dream: to come out for the best F1 team in motorsport history. Becoming world champion with Ferrari means eternal adoration from the Italian fans. To be sure, Hamilton will then never have to pay for his vegan lasagne at a Milanese restaurant again.

Above all, Ferrari is a team of glitz & glamour, of luxury and style icons. Ferrari drivers are traditionally stars, feted in the most expensive places on earth. It is the world that feels like his natural habitat to Hamilton. For this reason alone, Ferrari fits him like a glove.

Hamilton carries the stamp that he can only triumph with the best car on the grid. At Ferrari, the seven-time champion can prove that this prejudice is completely unfounded. If, following Michael Schumacher's example, he becomes champion with a car that is not the fastest on paper and pushes the team back in the right direction on the basis of his experience, he will change the status with which he enters the history books. And so, too, with the most important team in F1 history. Where there is debate about who is the best F1 driver of all time, Hamilton can provide the ultimate proof that he should have that title with a world title for Ferrari.

Anyway, a change of scenery does Hamilton good. At Mercedes, he has been through just about everything and at times the Brit looks like he is fine with it all. Regularly, his younger teammate George Russell even manages to beat him. A new environment, with a huge challenge, may fully rekindle the fire in a driver who has been mostly found in midfield lately.