After Lewis Hamilton made his decision to drive for Ferrari from 2025 onwards, that move has been dissected and analyzed endlessly. This time, it is Giancarlo Minardi, the ex-F1 team owner who owned the iconic Minardi team, who has given his two cents on the bumper deal. According to the 76-year-old, the Scuderia have fumbled once again by making a move to sign the Briton from Mercedes.
Minardi was very critical of the Scuderia’s move to get the #44 driver onboard with the project at Maranello. He would rather that the team focused on building a car and not a star-studded driver line-up.
While speaking to Quotidiano, he explained, “It follows that [Lewis] Hamilton is no guarantee of success. Just as Sebastian Vettel wasn’t.” The Faenza-born ex-racing driver is of the opinion that Ferrari needs a better car, not better drivers. “In all these years, has Ferrari lost because of the fault of those who drove it? In F1, it is essential to have a winning car. You don’t build a house from the roof but from the foundations.”
Despite his apprehensions with respect to the sporting aspect of this alliance, Minardi was more generous when discussing the commercial aspects of the Hamilton x Ferrari deal. From a marketing standpoint, Minardi applauds Ferrari chairman John Elkann’s vision. And on that score, there could have been nothing better than Hamilton joining the famous prancing horse of Maranello.
The dividends of this have already started showing. It is being reported that since the announcement, Ferrari are already a $10 billion richer from just a surge in its stock prices.
Lewis Hamilton could expose Ferrari’s biggest problems in F1
Minardi’s rampant criticisms are not against Hamilton in any way whatsoever. Rather, the ex-F1 team owner has aimed his jibes towards Ferrari. He diagnoses a problem of mixed priorities that have plagued the team as they have endured a 16-year-old championship drought.
He used the example of both Hamilton and Alonso to exemplify his argument. He feels that both Alonso and Hamilton, despite their age, could still win championships. But they cannot lead Ferrari to a championship solely based on their driving talents.
In the past, Ferrari has failed to win championships with Alonso and Vettel behind the wheel. Hence, Minardi is of the strong opinion that Hamilton, too, just like his predecessors, isn’t a guarantee of championship success.
If Minardi were heading the Scuderia, in his own words, he would’ve retained the line-up of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for the foreseeable future.
