Lewis Hamilton Has Taken Up a ‘Massive Challenge’ With His Move to Ferrari, Explains Ex-Race Strategist

It has been about two months and the F1 community is still digesting the fact that Lewis Hamilton will move to Ferrari in 2025. However, if we keep the shock value of the move aside, it is an interesting point of contention on how will Hamilton settle at the Maranello outfit. Ex-Aston Martin race strategist Bernie Collins has given her perspective and cited that this shift for the seven-time champion will be a massive challenge.

Speaking on The Fast and the Curious podcast, Collins said, “I think the Ferrari step for him is going to be a massive challenge. He has never driven a Ferrari power car, all of the engine modes that’s all different, the team ethos is different.”

The British strategist has hit the nail on the head with the novelty of aspects Hamilton will face at Ferrari. Having been associated with Mercedes since he was 13, the #44 driver is heading into unknown territory at Maranello. Collins stated how the Italian outfit has a “different environment” and they function very differently than Mercedes.

Meanwhile, Ferrari also has a lot of baggage with their 17-year hiatus of not winning the world championship. Hence, Hamilton will have a huge task at hand to bring back the glory days for the first time since 2007.

Besides, the 39-year-old will also take his time to adapt to Ferrari. It is not always easy for drivers to swap teams and settle in quickly with the team’s culture they are alien to.

While Hamilton has his junior career team boss Frederic Vassseur as the Ferrari boss, it still won’t be smooth sailing for the Briton to settle quickly. Still, the way Ferrari is performing currently, Hamilton won’t mind doing the hard yards to return to his winning ways in red.

Lewis Hamilton would be keen to drive for Ferrari, seeing their 2024 surgefdsfsdsf

Ferrari have started the 2024 season on a highly positive note, standing on the podium in every race so far. Relatively, Mercedes has been on the back foot and suffered contrasting fortunes, having not even been a regular top 5 threat.

Ferrari had the perfect result in Australia as well, winning the race and getting a 1-2 finish as well. Therefore, it is safe to say that they are the second-best team and the closest challengers to Red Bull currently. The massive improvement in the SF-24’s performance in Melbourne would have pleased Lewis Hamilton too.

For now, Ferrari are only four points off Red Bull in the Constructors’ Standings. While it does not necessarily mean that they may challenge the defending champions for the title, it is still an encouraging sign for their 2025 prospects.

If the Italian team can look to close the gap and get a few more wins this year, it sets up the foundation perfectly when Hamilton comes in. The 39-year-old will hope that Ferrari develops a highly competitive car next year, continuing on their positive trajectory right now.

The question is if he will be able to get up to speed and settle at the team to reap the benefits of their performance improvements. Only time will tell.