The idea of Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari is shocking but not surprising.
Hamilton is, obviously, a prodigiously talented driver. We all know that. But he’s not just fast, he’s smart.
At its best, it can manage races and exploit the car’s strengths while minimizing its weaknesses.
And, like the very best drivers, he always keeps a bit of brain space free for analysing what his opponents are doing.
It’s this sheer speed and tactical acumen that sets the greats apart from the rest.
There is a reason why Alain Prost, the man who memorably declared that the point of Formula One was to win a race at the lowest possible speed, was known as The Professor.
Or why Michael Schumacher once achieved the astonishing feat of completing the moment in a race, when he could only use fifth gear.
He simply worked out the answer to a problem that most of us would find insurmountable.
But even the most thoughtful racing driver can be prone to a chronic malaise among Formula 1’s greatest drivers: Ferrari obsession.
Put simply, among the elite clubs one concern remains: once you retire, you look back at your career, the victories, the championships, the fame and the champagne, and you regret the feeling of never having ridden. The most respected team in the sports world.
Because winning with a Ferrari is the goal.
Ferrari’s
I don’t think there’s a sports team like the Ferrari F1 team.
All sports have great, world-famous sides, whose successes ebb and flow – Real Madrid, Manchester United or the New York Yankees. But for all the fans who love those teams, there is another group who can’t stand them.
With Ferrari, the spectrum is different.
Everyone is, at least, interested in them. Many like them, plenty adore them. But very few, in my 40 years of watching the sport, truly hate Ferrari. Even the ones who say they do, normally, don’t.
It’s a team that has oscillated between successes and terrible bad results, and that’s, of course, what attracts wonderful drivers.
What greater feeling, what more romantic ambition than to resurrect Ferrari, which has earned the name of the driver since 2007?
Read more: Troubled Las Vegas Grand Prix hit by lawsuit Iconic 1962 race car becomes best-selling Ferrari ever at auction
It’s the same logic, the prospect of reclaiming an afterlife, that has brought a line of star managers to Manchester United over the past decade.
That’s what lured Schumacher to Italy (he did it spectacularly), that’s what Ayrton Senna intended to do, and that’s the dream that Hamilton is now seducing.
You can understand it. Just cast your eyes over the people who’ve won a title in a Ferrari – such luminaries as Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Niki Lauda and, of course, Schumacher.
Two British drivers have done so – Mike Hawthorn and John Surtees, both achieved more than 60 years ago.
Hamilton has the chance to do something extraordinary.
Where Ferrari failed
Except, of course, that Ferrari only has the ability to delight, but also to disappoint.
The team somehow managed to avoid winning the title with Sebastian Vettel, despite putting an in-form, four-time world champion into the quickest car on the circuit.
They did the same with Fernando Alonso.
Recently, they’ve spent fortunes creating a car that shows flashes of genius and then breaks down, brakes, or is hampered by strategic mistakes by the team.
Somehow, Ferrari have become the recidivists at snatching failure from the jaws of success. And that can’t just be down to bad luck.
Hamilton will know what he’s getting into.
But he once surprised everyone by leaving McLaren when they were ideal and joining a fledgling Mercedes team. It worked pretty well.
Maybe, just maybe, he is the key to making Ferrari’s dreams come true.