‘Hamilton will regain motivation at Ferrari and challenge for title in 2025’

Three months before Lewis Hamilton officially became a Scuderia Ferrari driver, leaving Mercedes F1 at the end of this year after 12 consecutive seasons in Formula 1, and eight months after it was announced, the Briton’s transfer to the Italian team is still pending in the news.

The most successful driver in the history of F1 has not hidden his big goal to win his eighth world championship-record in the colors of Ferrari. And to become the only one with 8 titles, and the first driver since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1956 to have won the title with three different teams.

Nigel Mansell reckons there’s no doubt Lewis can pull it off – but Jackie Stewart is a bit more cautious. Mansell, the fans’ infamous ‘il leone’ (‘the lion’), won three GPs with Ferrari before leaving for Williams in 1991 and is to this day the only British driver to complete a full season of the sport with the Scuderia.

That will change with Hamilton next year, with the transfer described by the “lion” as a “magical move” on Lewis’ part. “I have been a supporter of Lewis Hamilton since the beginning and I predicted he would become one of the greatest of all time. He achieved this”said Mansell, the 1992 champion.

“He receives a lot of criticism, but I believe that the choice he made for the end of his career in Formula 1 going to Ferrari it will be something magical for him. As her former driver Ferrari i can say that driving for the Ferrari it is something very special, and he will draw strength from it.

Give Lewis the right car and he’ll do the job for you, so it’ll be great for him in the Ferrari. It will go to a different level. He will find his motivation again, so I predict that Lewis will challenge for the 2025 world championship.

Lewis is eccentric at times, but he is a consummate professional. No one can deny him his achievements. Yes, he had the most fantastic cars and support and all that, but Lewis is great. I hope he succeeds next year”concluded Nigel Mansell.

Stewart: “The real difficulty lies in his age“
Meanwhile, three-time world champion and Formula 1 legend Jackie Stewart said he was surprised by Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move to Maranello in 2025, and said the biggest difficulty for the Briton will be moving to the Scuderia at an old (competitive) age.

The Scot, title holder in the 1969, ’71 and ’73 seasons, is the only Briton with (at least) three F1 championships besides Hamilton.“Yes, I’m a little surprised because he’s 40 years old and he’s going to a team that has only recently become very competitive again.” said the 85-year-old when asked by RacingNews365 to comment on Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.

“Maranello had entered a slump that left the team stuck in the middle of the starting line for a long time, and they were not competitive. Now the Ferrari looks to be on the road to recovery, so I imagine Hamilton was particularly impressed by that – especially when he got a chance to visit the factory.

The effect of Ferrari is different: no other group in its history Formula 1 it didn’t have such a long run. Undoubtedly, things are a little more complicated for Lewis now that he will be 40 years old.

It’s something else to go to Ferrari when you’re 25 or 30 years old, and something else when you’re 40. For me, the real difficulty lies precisely in that.”added Jackie Stewart.

And he concluded: “I think at some point he will be forced out of action, which makes his transfer all the more unusual. However, it seems to me that he is not thinking about leaving yet.

Furthermore, I feel compelled to show that he still has the ability and talent to compete in this sport. I think he proved that this year at Silverstone, where he won in a bit of a surprise fashion. Also, Italian fans are very special, and this gave Hamilton the motivation to try this experience as well”.