The 2024 F1 season will be Lewis Hamilton’s last year at Mercedes as he moves to Ferrari in 2025. Before he moves out, the Silver Arrows would do everything to give Hamilton another chance to clinch his eighth world championship, believes Zak Brown. This is simply because the McLaren boss thinks that Mercedes has everything to challenge Red Bull this season.
Brown said during the KTM Summer Grill, “Mercedes, Ferrari, these teams have everything they need, and they’re great teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were sitting here (at the end of the year) and all of a sudden Mercedes was back to Lewis winning his eighth championship. It’s very tough and competitive now, and I don’t think you can rule anybody out at this time of the year.”
Notably, the 2023 F1 season has been one of the most competitive seasons if Max Verstappen and Red Bull are kept away. Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin were all up against each other for podium places. No single team could be called the second-fastest team on the grid.
Aston Martin began the season strongly in P2, but in the end, they finished in P5. McLaren began the season in P10, whereas, they ended in P4. Ferrari and Mercedes kept on exchanging the P2 and P3 places throughout the season.
Mercedes and Aston Martin claimed eight podiums each, while Ferrari and McLaren took nine each. This is the reason why Brown thinks all these four midfield rivals are going to be even closer to Red Bull in 2024.
Therefore, it would be a perfect farewell to Hamilton if Toto Wolff’s team could provide a championship-worthy car to the seven-time world champion before he switches sides to the Prancing Horse for more glory.
What led Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes?
Lewis Hamilton had many reasons to leave Mercedes according to experts. Apart from the brand ambassador role that the German manufacturers refused to provide, the Briton also decided to leave after Wolff’s team failed to provide him with a car to go for the title.
The Brackley-based team has been faltering against Verstappen and Red Bull in the last two years. They were able to claim only one win in 44 races, whereas the 39-year-old had none. Hamilton’s last win came in the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Hence, the engineers at Brackley need to do their best before they send off Hamilton to Ferrari. Otherwise, their reputation would take a catastrophic hit for failing to come up with performance despite having everything at their disposal. [The funding, the facilities, the drivers, the engineers.]
The team won their last driver’s title in 2020 and Constructors’ championships in 2021. Therefore, a few more bad years could also land Wolff in a tough situation. The boss might have to give up his role if Mercedes keeps on failing year after year this way.
