Lewis Hamilton dropped a bombshell on the F1 community when he revealed at the start of the 2024 season that he would move to Ferrari. In the following months, it became quite apparent that he wasn’t feeling as valued at the Brackley-based team as before.
Hamilton was offered only a 1+1 contract extension — a stark difference from the multi-year deals he had signed in the past.
Ferrari on the other hand, showed faith in Hamilton and gave him everything Mercedes refused to — a multi-year deal, and a $100 million paycheck. However, Sasha Martinengo, an F1 analyst, warned Hamilton that Ferrari had made a promise similar to that of Michael Schumacher back in 2006.
“If you go back into the past as well when Michael Schumacher won his five championships with Ferrari they basically also said to him ‘listen we’ll give you another year but we we need to start nurturing for the future’ and he said no,” he explained.
“So, these things do happen. No matter how fantastic you are unfortunately you do have a shelf life within that company. I think Lewis Hamilton sat there and said ‘one year versus three years plus a whole lot of other extras that I get at Ferrari’. I think he made a very shrewd decision,” concluded Martinengo.
10/09/2006 Monza
Announces retirement for first time#KeepFightingMichael pic.twitter.com/H3dlhD9Eiq
— Michael Schumacher (@_MSchumacher) September 10, 2023
Schumacher was not okay with being treated second-best to anybody, so he decided to retire from F1 altogether (although he returned between 2010-2012 for Mercedes). Hamilton, on the other hand, believes he has a lot more to offer.
His main objective at Ferrari will be to win his eighth Drivers’ World Championship.
Is Hamilton going to thrive at Ferrari?
The burden of expectations will mount on Hamilton’s shoulders as he starts his career as a Ferrari driver with the turn of the new year. Not only will he be vying for personal glory, but he will carry the hopes of millions of Tifosi, who are yearning to see the team win its first title since 2008.
Naturally, his situation is vastly different from Schumacher’s when he left F1. Hamilton continues to perform at a high level, as shown by his two race wins last season despite driving what he called his worst car ever.
Regardless of the sporting outcome, Hamilton’s move to the iconic Italian team has already had a significant commercial impact. With an ambassadorial role and future collaborations in mind, the partnership between Hamilton and Ferrari could become one of the most influential in F1 history.
