Seven-time Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton continues to be in the news recently, as his future continues to remain uncertain. Although Hamilton has repeatedly stated that he’s keen on staying at Mercedes, he has still not signed a contract extension. And as the uncertainty continues around the Briton’s future, some have suggested that he could consider moving to rivals Ferrari. Despite these rumors gaining steam, 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill doesn’t believe that Hamilton would move to the Prancing Horse.
Hill believes that while it is the dream of most F1 drivers to win with Ferrari, he does not see Hamilton considering such a move. And this is because the 62-year-old believes that it would be a huge risk for the Mercedes driver to make such a move at this stage of his career.
Irrespective of what the future holds for Hamilton, the speculations are likely to continue until and unless he makes a decision. And this is primarily because of Mercedes’ recent struggles to develop a car that is capable of winning the championship.
Damon Hill explains why Lewis Hamilton will not go to Ferrari
In a recent interview with The Independent, Damon Hill explained why Lewis Hamilton will not choose to move to Ferrari. The 62-year-old began by stating, “It would be a huge risk to go to Ferrari. Everyone would love to be in red and win. See what happened with Nigel [Mansell]. It is a romance really but you’ve got to be cold-blooded about it. He is not going to go to Red Bull either“.
When it comes to Hamilton, he himself has repeatedly stated that he has no desire of leaving Mercedes. When asked by Sky Sports F1 if the Silver Arrows’ recent dip in form was resulting in a delay in him signing a contract extension, the Briton replied, “That is not what I am thinking“.
The 38-year-old then added that he has still got complete faith in the team and that he hopes to remain with them for “a lot longer“. With Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes expiring at the end of this year, he will have to make a decision soon.
Hill explains why there is a delay in Hamilton’s contract situation
Since Damon Hill does not see Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes, he then went on to explain why the 38-year-old could be taking time to reach a contract extension. Hill believes that Hamilton is taking time because his deal just does not entail a driver’s contract but also a longtime ambassadorial contract.
With that in mind, Hill added, “That requires a different board to sign off on it, can’t just be signed off by Toto. There’ll be some board meetings in Germany“. If Hill’s remarks are anything to go by, then it could be only a matter of time before Hamilton ends up signing a contract extension with Mercedes.
