NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
At first glance, Lewis Hamilton seems to have played a blind role in signing with Ferrari for next year and beyond.
The Prancing Horses are in second place in terms of speed against the raging bulls this season, with Carlos Sainz Jr, the guy the Briton set out to upgrade, the only engine to have broken the dominance of Red Bull and Max Verstappen so far with an emphatic victory in Australia. Ferrari has three-and-a-half times more problems with the boys than Mercedes, and the Silver Arrows are enjoying the worst start to a season in their history.
Still, Hamilton says he has been plagued by complaints about his upcoming defection from the team with which he has won six of his seven world names in favour of Ferrari, which has earned a driver name since 2007.
“I don’t feel like I want my resolution to be justified. I think I know what’s right for me, and that hasn’t replaced it from the moment I made the resolution,” he said yesterday.
“I’ve never questioned that and I’m not influenced by other people’s comments. Even today, there are other people who continue to speak out, and this will continue for the rest of the year.
Some wonder if Hamilton’s arrival will be a step forward for Ferrari, given that it does not rejuvenate and replace a driver who happens to be in the best shape of his life and outshines teammate Charles Leclerc.
It’s debatable whether Ferrari has the right driver, but Hamilton brings unparalleled experience, not to mention a dogged determination to win a record-breaking eighth world title.
He’s hungry for a new challenge, and next year (no matter how temporarily the new Ferrari comes out or how strong Leclerc is), we’ll actually see a refreshed and emboldened Hamilton and a noticeable improvement in functionality over the course of this one. year, while struggling to get along with his Mercedes and teammate George Russell.
Hamilton lashed out at reporters a fortnight ago at Suzuka, whom he had already targeted next year, to the detriment of his current team.
However, there will soon come a time when Mercedes will have to deal with the possibility of its star driver going to a rival camp and hiding the main points related to next year’s car. This is not a scenario, unless Hamilton’s decision has been revealed a year in advance, rather than the same fall announcement.
He said: “It will start with a verbal exchange with Toto [Wolff] because I don’t know how to navigate. I’ve never been in this position this time of year. When I left McLaren, it was towards the end of the season.
“Right now, I need to end on a high note here. I’m a competitor first and foremost, so I need to win. Thinking about next year will help me get there. “
He will be 40 at the start of next season, but Hamilton says it will take him several more years to hang up his racing boots.
“I’m going to race for a while longer,” he said, noting that Fernando Alonso has extended his contract with Aston Martin until 2026, when the Spaniard turns 45.
“It’s smart that he’s still here. I hope this continues a little longer. I never imagined I’d be running at 40, yet it’s such a crazy adventure – life – that I don’t feel like I’m almost 40 years old. I still feel very young.
China is its first Formula 1 race since 2019 after a four-year hiatus imposed by Covid. The Shanghai circuit will also host the first race of 2024, and this year’s format has been fine-tuned.
The penalty shootout for the board will take place today after just one morning practice session. The dashboard itself will take place in the morning, with the main qualifying taking place later in the day before Sunday’s GP. Qualifying and grand prize will take place at 8 a. m. UK time.
There is little information for the groups to continue ahead of the sessions as the track has been resurfaced, and that is why Max Verstappen believes it is the smartest position to contest one of the race weekends.
“When you’re off a track for a while, you never know what’s going to happen to you, so it would have been better to have an overall race weekend here,” said the Red Bull driver.
“On the other hand, it probably spices things up, and that’s what they’d like to see. “
Carlos Sainz has proven to be the second most successful driver so far this season and has several potential positions for next year, adding seats at Red Bull, Mercedes and Audi, which Sauber bought.
The latter option looks the least promising, but Helmut Marko says the new car giant has more money than Red Bull would be willing to spend on the three-time grand prix winner, and that applies to Merc too.
Sainz already has family ties to Audi through his father’s participations in the Dakar, and also won this year’s rally raid.
“We let him know he’s having his most productive season in F1, but Audi has given him a very lucrative offer that we can’t fit in or beat,” Red Bull’s Marko revealed.
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