Lewis Hamilton’s $49,000,000 Move Away From Mercedes Ripped to Shreds as Ferrari Prioritizes More Important Dilemma

May 24, 2023 | 8:27 AM EDT

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Recently, the F1 world went through a roller coaster ride when speculations over Lewis Hamilton‘s future ran wild. Many felt the Briton will make a switch to Ferrari as his Mercedes contract concludes at the end of the year. Then came the news of Ferrari actually making a move to poach him. Parallelly, rumors about Charles Leclerc planning a Mercedes move came to the fore. A new solid development has now arrived which will surely leave many surprised again.

Since the start of the season last year until now, Mercedes has struggled to catch up to Red Bull. It is no secret that one of the biggest reasons why Hamilton, despite being 38, is hanging on is because of his hunger for the 8th world title. However, the chances of that happening anytime soon with Mercedes are next to none. That is what started the rumors of him looking for a switch to Maranello.

The latest development in Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari and Charles Leclerc to Mercedes speculations

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Last week, reports started coming in about Ferrari placing an offer to Hamilton for a whopping $49 million. The move came as a surprise as the Briton has time and again reiterated his loyalty to his current team. All those rumors have been categorically denied by the co-founder of Formu1a.uno.

⚠️ | Ferrari has not made any contract offer to Hamilton, let alone at the quoted figure of over €40 million.
The priority is to extend Leclerc's contract, although this process will take some time.
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— formularacers (@formularacers_) May 24, 2023

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Piergiuseppe Donadoni wrote on Twitter, “No Ferrari offer to Hamilton, let alone more than 40 million euros. Ferrari ready to speed up /

close the renewal of Leclerc in a few months. Will the Monegasque be in the same hurry to close the deal?” [Translated using Google]

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Red Bull’s Helmut Marko believed Hamilton would take the $49 million Ferrari deal for two major reasons. One, as per the taskmaster was the search for the 8th world title which did not look likely with Mercedes in the near future. And second, his jealousy with Max Verstappen who is earning more than he is.

Ralf Schumacher did believe Hamilton would leave Mercedes

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recently made headlines for revealing the reason behind the delay in negotiations on Hamilton’s contract renewal. He told that Hamilton is a great friend and discussing money with his friend is not a comfortable thing for him to do. Ralf Schumacher, on the other hand, believes the friendships Hamilton has built over his ten years at Mercedes are exactly what will prevent him from signing the Ferrari deal.

F1 Maximaal quoted Ralf as saying “I think it is very likely that Lewis will stay at Mercedes. He’s not getting any younger and has a tough challenge with teammate George Russell. But I don’t think that’s why he’s giving up his home at Mercedes and risking a future partnership with the team.” [Translated using Google]

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Do you think the news from Maranello about Ferrari prioritizing Leclerc’s contract extension will make things ease up in Brackley as well? Or is it just the start of a really long series of rumor chains?