1992 Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell has boldly predicted that Lewis Hamilton can challenge for the title as early as next year with Ferrari. In a recent interview, Mansell opened up about being a Hamilton fan since the start of the seven-time champion’s career.
“I’ve been a Lewis Hamilton fan all the time and I predicted he’d be one of the best ever,” Mansell told Top Offshore Sportsbooks as shared on X. Hamilton has undoubtedly proved Mansell’s prediction to be true by winning over 100 races and registering over 100 pole positions.
While Mansell believes that Hamilton still has what it takes to win his record-breaking eighth title, he did make it clear that he will need to have a good car. Mansell said,
“Give Lewis the car, and he’ll get the job done, and so I predict that he will have a fabulous time at Ferrari. He’ll go into a different gear. He’ll be motivated again, and I expect Lewis to challenge for the World Championship in 2025“.
“ive been a Lewis fan all the time” – Nigel Mansell https://t.co/vsaddhRcdy pic.twitter.com/e45cIKl2PW
— sim (@sim3744) October 6, 2024
It’s not just Mansell who is looking forward to the partnership between two of the biggest names in motorsport history. Hamilton’s move to Ferrari has been labeled as the biggest driver movement in F1’s history and fans will be eager to watch this pairing succeed.
Being a Ferrari driver is a special feeling, says Mansell
The last time Ferrari won a championship was in 2008 when Hamilton won his first driver’s title for McLaren. The Italian team has come close on several occasions since then but never really managed to pull it off.
However, the arrival of Hamilton should give Ferrari that extra bit of push to break their 16-year drought. Hamilton’s experience of working closely with a championship-winning team for so many years combined with his exceptional skill to use every bit of performance in an F1 car will definitely come in handy for the legendary Italian outfit.
And then there’s the special feeling of being a Ferrari driver which, as Mansell explained, will give that extra edge to Hamilton. “He won’t realize, having been an ex-Formula 1 Ferrari driver, to drive for Ferrari is something incredibly special and he’ll feed off that,” Mansell concluded.
