ovWith Lewis Hamilton‘s blockbuster Ferrari move now unveiled, many fans and paddock insiders alike are speculating as to why exactly the seven-time world champion chose to ditch the Silver Arrows after a long-standing relationship. During ex-Ferrari manager, Peter Windsor’s latest ‘F1 chat’ on his YouTube channel, one fan proposed that Hamilton had actually figured out how disastrous the W15 was going to be and chose to take his ‘inputs’ to Ferrari instead. Windsor on the other hand was not convinced by Hamilton’s eye to differentiate a good car from a bad one.
Talking about the Briton’s comments about the ill-fated W13, Windsor said, “I think you give Lewis too much credit for being able to know exactly how good or bad the car’s going to be before it’s even turned a wheel. I don’t believe he does. If he did, why was he going on about how good the 2022 car was going to be before it hit the road?”
Mercedes took a bold approach with the 2022 car with their ‘zero pods’ concept. Once that failed miserably, even a more conventional aerodynamic philosophy wasn’t enough to salvage its successor, the W14. Consequently, time and again, Hamilton had been criticizing the team about the car’s drivability and performance on the pretext of the team ignoring his inputs in terms of development.
After a very disappointing outing with Mercedes in 2023, Hamilton may have just lost faith in the project. With the W15 probably not delivering a vastly superior experience, from his first simulator runs, Hamilton would’ve been eager to take on the challenge of winning that eighth world title with the Scuderia instead.
Ferrari wanted Lewis Hamilton more than Mercedes
In the past, and as recently as his contract extension in August, Hamilton has reiterated his desire to finish his career at the Brackley-based team. Despite him winning 6 titles for the team, it seems like Mercedes did not want this alliance as much as the 39-year-old did.
Speculations in the paddock suggest that the board of Mercedes was not willing to offer Hamilton the ambassadorial role that he wanted once he had hung his racing helmet up. A tough pill for the #44 driver, it only needed Ferrari to show the impetus to lure him away from the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes’ board of directors refused a proposed deal to make Lewis Hamilton a Mercedes ambassador until 2035.
John Elkann proposed a $400 million investment in Lewis’ projects such as Mission44 and transform him into an ambassador for Ferrari.
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) February 2, 2024
While Mercedes inexplicably snubbed their world champion, the Maranello outfit was more than happy to offer the Briton what Mercedes did and more. Ferrari’s chairman, John Elkann has reportedly agreed to fulfill Hamilton’s financial demands in the sport along with a guarantee of supporting his off-track ventures such as Mission 44.
Elkann has agreed to extend a whopping $400 million to the Briton cumulatively lover the years whilst also offering him that elusive ambassadorial role that Mercedes denied him.
