It was a long time coming but until it was confirmed, there was still lingering hope for the Ferrari faithful. However, now all hope is gone as Lewis Hamilton is locked with Mercedes for two more years. The Brit extended his contract till the end of the 2025 season with a massive $127 million package. Despite the deliberation and the uncertainty regarding the extension, it was always inevitable as Hamilton himself had pledged his loyalty to Mercedes on multiple occasions. However, Ferrari kept pushing their luck with mega salary offers to lure Hamilton to Maranello and not for the first time in his career. Although now that Hamilton has snubbed Ferrari again he has revealed the Tifosi’s toxic reception.
Hamilton was always clear about his stance on joining Ferrari from the very start. Although the Italian outfit kept pushing its luck till the very end to house the second seven-time champion. This is exactly why the snub in favor of Mercedes was extra painful for the Tifosi and when you upset the Ferrari fans, they let you know. Hamilton, as revealed in the Italian GP press conference, talked about the toxic reception he has received from Ferrari fans in the past.
He said, “It’s shifted a lot. I think from the beginning.. I can’t remember, somewhere I got black cats thrown at me. I remember there was a period of time when we couldn’t wear the team shit into the circuit.”
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One can expect no less from the ardent fans of the team Hamilton has been a menace to throughout his career, especially in the last decade. This is probably why Ferrari tried to take the only opening they saw since 2016.
Lewis on the tifosi reception, for having been a thorn in their sides for so long 😁😆#ItalinaGP 🇮🇹pic.twitter.com/GFT9Xw85pe
— Hamilton Insights (@LH44_insights) August 31, 2023
However, according to some experts, Hamilton would have never switched sides, especially to Ferrari.
F1 expert gives their brutal opinion on why Lewis Hamilton would’ve never joined Ferrari
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The Brit has become the highest earner on the grid and subsequently in the history of the sport ever with his $63.3 million a year contract. Ferrari wanted to pay a whopping $70 million a year salary to Hamilton to lure him to Ferrari. However, according to Michael Schmidt the Brit would’ve never accepted the offer for one humiliating reason.
Schmidt said, “I also think Hamilton is quite intelligent. He knows very well that even if they pay double in Maranello, things will not get better there: Ferrari is not ahead of Mercedes. And every problem at Mercedes would multiply at Ferrari because it is even more in the spotlight.”
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For Hamilton, money is not an object as he only has one goal now, the eighth championship title. Until a team can help get Hamilton closer to that goal, he will drive for free if it comes to that.
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