Lewis Hamilton, the British driver who chose to quit Mercedes in 2025 to join Charles Leclerc, has been scheduled to join Ferrari for the upcoming season by another Formula One official. Ferrari seems to be Red Bull’s closest competitor, but not everyone finds their partnership to be an enticing proposition. Hamilton and Mercedes have struggled.
Since Hamilton is the only driver on the grid other than Max Verstappen to have won a race in 2023 or 2024, concerns have already been expressed over whether Ferrari made a mistake in replacing Carlos Sainz.
Thierry Boutsen, a former Williams driver, is the most recent commentator to publicly disagree with Ferrari’s plans for the upcoming season. The three-time Grand Prix winner believes that a driver can no longer improve a team, and if the 39-year-old Hamilton was capable of competing at the top of the grid, as Ferrari believes, he would have done it with Mercedes the previous season.
“I think a driver cannot take a team to the top,” Boutsen said to PlanetF1. While it was feasible in the 1970s, this is no longer the case. throughout the 1980s. Perhaps to some extent in the 1990s, but it’s not feasible now.
If not, he would have defeated Verstappen both the previous year and this year, and he would have been the champion. The engineers and computers now do the majority of the car’s development rather than drivers.
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However, I don’t see myself being the driver who elevates Ferrari to this level. When he joins Ferrari at the end of this year, how much time will he have to assemble the team around him to develop the car, and if the Ferrari returns to that level, it will be because they make a car that can win?
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are expected to work together at Ferrari. (Photo courtesy of Getty)
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The F1 paddock is resonating with this thought, as former team founder Giancarlo Minardi shares it. While applauding Ferrari’s ability to attract Hamilton with its commercial appeal, the Italian acknowledged that if winning championships had been the ultimate goal, he would not have made the same choice.
In terms of marketing, John Elkann deserves praise for his excellent operation. However, things alter when we discuss Formula 1. Minardi stated.
“Dimensions vary. I am not naive; I know why this is a commercial for the fantastic deal between the Lady in Red and a seven-time world champion. Myth and legend come together in this instance. But, and this is just me talking about motorsport, I wouldn’t have selected someone like Hamilton.
“Because of the accountability of people operating the vehicle, they have not been without titles for a generation. Thus, Hamilton is not a success certainty. Sebastian Vettel wasn’t, either. Having a winning car is crucial in Formula One racing. Building a house starts with the foundations, not the roof.