F1 News: “Lewis Hamilton Is Not a Guarantee of Success, Nor Was Vettel”: Ex-F1 Boss Dampens Ferrari’s Title Hopes

Ferrari won its last Constructors’ Championship in 2008, the same year Lewis Hamilton won his first driver’s title. With the 7-time world champion set to join the Maranello-based squad at the start of the 2025 season, he would be hoping that he can end the team’s run of misfortune by winning his record-breaking 8th championship. However, according to an ex-F1 boss, Giancarlo Minardi, there’s no guarantee that Hamilton will be able to achieve what the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso failed to accomplish with the team.

When Sebastian Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015, there was little doubt in people’s minds that the 4-time world champion would be able to bring Ferrari back to the top step as a constructor. However, the German was unable to mount a successful title battle against Lewis Hamilton despite having a championship-worthy car in 2017 and 2018.

Giancarlo Minardi believes Lewis Hamilton will need a winning car if he has to succeed with Team Red

Hamilton’s decision to switch to Ferrari marks the end of a remarkable era. It concludes the incredibly successful partnership between the Briton and Mercedes, the most decorated driver-team pairing in F1 history. If successful with Ferrari, Hamilton would be following in the footsteps of his close friend and Mercedes mentor Niki Lauda. Lauda is the only other driver who has won driver titles for both McLaren and Ferrari. However, for Hamilton to achieve said feat, Ferrari will need to iron out the issues that have plagued them for so many years now.

Giancarlo Minardi, a former team owner in F1 recently shared his thoughts on Hamilton’s chances of winning a championship. While acknowledging the brilliance of the move from a marketing standpoint, he questions its impact from a racing perspective. He stated that success in F1 requires the teams to produce a winning car in addition to having a talented driver behind the steering wheel.

“So we have to ask ourselves: has Ferrari lost all these years because of those who drove it?“ Minardi said as per quotidiano.net. “No, the Red hasn’t been without titles for a generation because of the responsibility of those behind the wheel. It follows that Hamilton is not a guarantee of success. Nor was Vettel. In short, here we mistake cause for effect. In F1 it’s essential to have a winning car. You don’t build a house from the roof but from the foundation.”

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With Mercedes changing its design philosophy for the W15, Lewis Hamitlon’s move could either prove to be a masterstroke or a huge mistake depending on how the new car performs.

Has Hamilton timed his Ferrari move to perfection?

In a recent social media post, Hamilton shared that his decision to move to Ferrari was fueled by a “feeling,” similar to when he joined Mercedes in 2013. He recalled the feeling of taking a leap of faith into the unknown back in 2013 when he joined Mercedes, a move that proved highly successful.

Speaking of being successful, Ferrari managed a late-season resurgence in 2023, with improvements in tire degradation resulting in an improved race pace. This progress allowed them to stay in the competition with Red Bull and stay competitive against Mercedes, marking the only team besides Red Bull to achieve a race victory during a truly dominant season from Max Verstappen. With a promised 95% new car, the hopes are high for Ferrari to make a title challenge in 2024 and beyond, and Hamilton’s decision could turn out to be another stroke of genius.

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