Revealed: The Data That Could Have Lewis Hamilton… Ferrari… Read More.
Revealed: The Data That Could Have Lewis Hamilton… Ferrari… Read More.
The F1 world was shocked on February 1 with Lewis Hamilton’s announcement to move to Ferrari.
Hamilton had previously expressed interest in Ferrari but always renewed his contracts with Mercedes until now.
This might be Hamilton’s most ambitious move, but he might now be questioning his decision.
Mercedes’ performance since the 2022 regulations has been disappointing, with Hamilton not being comfortable in his cars since Red Bull and Max Verstappen ended his dominant era in 2021.
Mercedes finished just three points ahead of Ferrari in 2023, but Ferrari showed stronger improvement in the second half of the season.
This likely influenced Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari, especially given Mercedes’ poor start this year and Hamilton’s criticisms of the car and team.
Initially, Hamilton’s move seemed wise as Mercedes struggled.
However, since the Canadian GP, Mercedes has improved significantly.
Hamilton won two of the last three races and has been on the podium in four of the last five.
He has scored the most points over the last five races, competing head-to-head with McLaren and Red Bull.
Mercedes has transformed from battling Aston Martin and struggling to reach the podium to being one of the most complete teams on the grid.
Hamilton might now regret leaving Mercedes for Ferrari, especially since Ferrari has stagnated since Monaco.
Ferrari’s major upgrade at Imola didn’t deliver the expected results, and the team has only secured two podiums due to external factors.
The gap between Ferrari and Mercedes would be even smaller without George Russell’s disqualification in Belgium.
Despite this, Mercedes earned more points in Belgium thanks to Hamilton’s win.
In qualifying, Mercedes and Ferrari are close, with Mercedes closing the gap in race pace since Canada.
However, Mercedes has been more consistent in races, while Ferrari has struggled to find the sweet spot of the SF24.
Charles Leclerc, Hamilton’s future Ferrari teammate, remains third in the Drivers’ Championship but faces pressure from Hamilton, who has been outperforming him since Monaco.
Mercedes’ resurgence was unexpected, and Hamilton might regret leaving for Ferrari.
Although the performance gap between Ferrari and Mercedes isn’t vast, Ferrari’s budget for 2024 is limited, and their big upgrade at Imola didn’t meet expectations.
With the F1 2025 season approaching, Mercedes is in a strong position to finish this year on a high and have a solid base car for next year.
Hamilton might be second-guessing his decision, having to leave the team that helped him break numerous records.
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