F1 expert Karun Chandhok has made an audacious claim as he believes that Lewis Hamilton’s shocking decision to move to Ferrari has contributed to the share of the Italian brand moving up by 9% (6% at the time of Chandhok’s post). Consequently, the expert believes that this news has helped Ferrari’s market cap increase in excess of a whopping $4 billion.
Taking to X, Chandhok explained how much “power” the Lewis Hamilton brand has in the world. Chandhok believes that Hamilton’s news alone contributed to an increase in $4 billion in market cap for the Ferrari brand.
However, it is pertinent to note that the news of Hamilton moving to Ferrari F1 coincided with the parent company announcing their Q4 results. According to CNBC, Ferrari topped Wall Street’s estimates by announcing record profits for the year ending.
As a result of the same, Ferrari’s shares increased by a whopping 12% intraday to nearly $390 a share on the NYSE before closing seven percent higher at $372.42 a share. This also happens to be Ferrari’s record close for the year.
Hence, the major announcement that Hamilton is joining Ferrari is perhaps just a mere coincidence. This is because the Ferrari stock has been performing well recently, owing to strong operational performance.
However, at the same time, Hamilton’s influence cannot be ignored. According to veteran F1 journalist Joe Pompliano, the Silver Arrows received approximately 25% of all TV time when they dominated the turbo-hybrid era with Hamilton. Moreover, at this time, the valuation of Mercedes F1 also increased from $400 million to a staggering $2.7 billion.
Lewis Hamilton grabs all headlines after sealing Ferrari move
Since Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time world champion, the spotlight was undoubtedly on him when the news first came out on February 1 that he was going to join Ferrari. Although the news was not official by then, since several media outlets reported the same, F1 fans went berserk.
A few hours later, all the parties confirmed the same. Mercedes put out a statement that Hamilton had activated a release option in his contract that was just announced last year. A few minutes after the Silver Arrows confirmed the Briton’s departure, F1’s official handle and Ferrari’s handle also confirmed the blockbuster news.
Since Charles Leclerc has already extended his contract with Ferrari, Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz in 2025. Once the Spaniard knew of his fate after Hamilton’s news became public, he put out an emotional post on social media.
