The rumours around the paddock are that Charles Leclerc will be swapped by his team to bring in Lewis Hamilton. The Monegasque will head to the Mercedes at the end of the 2023 season.
This comes after the 7x world champion was visibly frustrated with Mercedes’s lack of progress. The rumours gathered steam with Toto Wolff claiming Lewis is free to leave if he is unable to win another title with Mercedes.
Some say the driver already knows his chances of winning the 8th title with Mercedes are slim. With his contract expiring at the end of this season, Ferrari might pick him up.
Lewis Hamilton is the only F1 driver with over one hundred podiums that has never driven for Ferrari. pic.twitter.com/uV9juMWeGI
— Formula God Facts (@FormulaGodFacts) March 21, 2023
The rumours have been ridiculed by the Ferrari driver. He believes there is no way he will agree to a move with Mercedes until he accomplishes his childhood dream.
Charles Leclerc dismisses Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari rumours
Leclerc claims the rumours are baseless. The Monegasque claims he had never heard of this before and believes it’s being spread around to destabilise himself and Ferrari.
He said this is the first time that he’s hearing all these rumours from outside. Maybe someone is trying to sabotage us.”
Charles has always been a passionate fan of Ferrari. And the 5-GP winner assured the Tifosi that he is loyal towards the Maranello-based team.
“Charles, let’s not give up, eh? Until the end.”
Charles: “Nothing is given up at all.”
💪
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) March 22, 2023
His aim is to end Ferrari’s 17-year wait to win the championship. He added, “I’m in red and I think it’s quite obvious how much I love Ferrari and how much I want to win at Ferrari.”
Leclerc has a contract until 2024 with Ferrari. But with the Italian team struggling to catch up with Red Bull, maybe the move could be the only chance he has if he wants to win the F1 championship.
Will Lewis Hamilton leave for Ferrari?
Leclerc has denied any possibility of him wanting to leave Ferrari. But that does not stop his team from pulling the levers to bring in an established F1 champion like Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis is struggling with Mercedes. He endured a winless campaign in 2022 with a car that was difficult to drive. And this year, the Silver Arrows haven’t made much improvement. Even, the Briton claimed he is “not connected with the car anymore.”
Since the new regulations have kicked in, Ferrari has enjoyed a resurgence with Mercedes suffering a dip in form. So there is a possibility that he might consider moving to Maranello if that’s the only way he can fight for his elusive 8th title.
Yikes 😳😅😆 How long before they consider changing something “for the good of the sport” of course 😉🙃#SaudiArabianGP 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/a1xmpIyU3k
— Hamilton Insights (@LH44_insights) March 19, 2023
Mercedes already have George Russell lined up as their future No.1 driver. So the team would not feel threatened by losing a quality driver as they have a future star with them.
The move also favours Ferrari as they can bring in a driver with winning experience. Leclerc challenged Max Verstappen for the title, but the driver lost momentum and lost the championship.
Ferrari desperately wants to end their 17-year wait to win a Championship. And with a driver like Hamilton onboard, they have the best chance to do so.
