Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Formula 1, Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
Luke Davies
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Formula 1, Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton has been told he should call time on his career if a certain thing happens during his first season as a Ferrari driver.
Hamilton, 40, has currently won the joint-most F1 titles – seven – alongside former Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher.
The Brit has previously represented McLaren between 2007-2012, winning his first title in 2008.
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Before moving to Mercedes where he won four titles in a row between 2017 and 2020 - taking his record to six crowns in seven years at the German manufacturer between 2013 and 2020.
However, he has since struggled to replicate his previous form and finished seventh in the 2024 drivers’ standings.
Of course, the 40-year-old’s arrival at Ferrari has been the subject of widespread interest from both the media and fans. Hamilton even admitted that the move was a “childhood dream”.
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“Of course, I think for every driver growing up, watching the history, watching Michael Schumacher in his prime, I think probably all of us sit in our garage and see the screen pop up, and you see the driver in the red cockpit and you wonder what it would be like to be surrounded by the red,” Hamilton told F1.com in February 2024.
“You go to the Italian Grand Prix and you see the sea of red Ferrari fans and you can only stand in awe of that. It’s a team that’s not had huge success recently, since 2007, and I saw it as a huge challenge.
"Without a doubt, even as a kid, I used to play [on games] as Michael in that car, so it definitely is a dream and I’m really, really excited about it.”
Hamilton is getting used to his new surroundings and has already set a new record during his first week with the Italian manufacturer.
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A photograph of him posted to his Instagram page gained 5.5m likes at the time of writing – thought to be a new record.
The F1 season will get underway in Melbourne, Australia between March 13-16. And despite the huge fanfare surrounding Hamilton one racing star ‘believes he should retire’ if one thing happens.
“Ferrari is just your final destination,” racing driver Tom Coronel told Racing365.
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“Become world champion next year and disappear. I think Ferrari had the strongest car at the end of the year, if you look at the entire combination.
“I can well imagine that if Hamilton still wants to tick off number eight, he has a better chance at Ferrari than at Mercedes. At the end of last season, they were the strongest. So, then I would say, ‘Just start strong in 2025 and just finish it off’.”
“But then Hamilton also has to have the balls to say, ‘I have done what I wanted to achieve,” he added.
“I drove for Ferrari and became world champion again. I am going to start a different life and am out of motorsport’. Then he ends with a high point.”