Lewis Hamilton Predicted to Break Ferrari’s 17-Year-Old Curse With Max Verstappen-Like “Winning Mentality”

Lewis Hamilton has seen a prestigious brand like Ferrari pick up only two trophies since his debut in 2007. First was the Drivers’ Championship which was won by Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. The second was a year later as they bagged the Constructors’ Championship. Since then, it’s been overall underwhelming performances one after the other every year for 17 years. However, according to a former Ferrari man, that can all change now with the Brit’s arrival, as he can help end Ferrari’s drought.

The Italian team has been starved of a trophy largely by Mercedes and Red Bull since 2008. This is why a move for Hamilton was a brilliant move according to Luigi Mazzola. On the current grid, there are only two recent world champions and that’s Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, and getting the Brit to Italy will bring the winning mentality back, according to the ex-Ferrari man. The same mentality that Verstappen has and he has showcased on multiple occasions over the past two seasons.

As quoted by Formula Passion, Mazzola said, “We haven’t won in Ferrari for 17 years and Hamilton will bring a much-needed winning mentality. For example, I remember Verstappen who in Austria insisted on making the pit stop at the end to also get the additional point. ‘ This is how you keep trained’, was his ‘joke’ relating to the extra stop.” (Translated via Google)

“Here Hamilton will bring that mentality where everyone will be tense on the violin string and it is one of the effects that Elkann also wanted to unleash by making two exceptional drivers available to the Scuderia. The Hamilton move puts pressure on Ferrari as early as 2024 because it will be the season in which they catch up with Red Bull and then fight for the title with Hamilton and Leclerc as early as 2025,” he added.

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The Red Bull man has showcased the winning mentality over and over, just like Hamilton during his era of dominance. Now, Mazzola hopes the Brit will bring the hunger back to Maranello and let his mentality rub off on the team.

In fact, some believe Hamilton should’ve made this move back in 2022 and not waited this long.

Peter Windsor slams Toto Wolff and Co. while suggesting Hamilton should’ve made the Ferrari move back in 2022

Many have come out in support of the Brit’s decision, and ex-Ferrari boss Peter Windsor is among them. He believes Hamilton should’ve not wasted his time with the Brackley outfit in the past two years and instead should’ve joined Ferrari.

Ferrari was the closest competitor to Red Bull in 2022 but fell short toward the end. However, some of the blame can go toward the unforced error by the drivers of the Italian team, and with Hamilton on the wheel, we could’ve seen a much closer fight in the championship.

Keeping that in mind, Windsor said, “I think he’s done exactly the right thing. You could argue that it’s a shame he didn’t do it sooner to be honest because he’s just wasted 2 years at Mercedes really.”

He even criticized the team for giving up on the 2021 controversy too easily and believes they should’ve fought harder to get it overturned.

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Regardless, what’s in the past cannot be changed. We can only look to the future and all Ferrari faithful are looking toward a brighter, more red future with Hamilton as they hope to end the 17-year-old curse.