Could Lewis Hamilton take key engineers to a new team, like Michael Schumacher did?
Schumacher took technical director Ross Brawn and designer Rory Byrne from Benetton to Ferrari, where he𓃲 enjoyed his heyday surrounded by allies that he already knew.
Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes💫 expires at the end of this year and, aged 38, he is yet to commit amid underperಞformance from the W14.
F1 pundit Herbert told ꦬthe about Hamilton’s future: “I suppose it’s down to what happens at M🎶ercedes.
“Can they turn it around? If that doesn’t work and Lewis still has the fire in his belly and thinks this is not the pla꧃ce for him where𒅌 does he go?
“Would he go to Ferrari? Does he want to go th𒁏ere as he feels that’s where he gets a championship?
“Would he fe෴el he could take his energ💟y and people from Mercedes there like Michael Schumacher did and actually change and steer it in a positive way? The problem with that is time.”
Hamilton and Schumac꧂her are joint-record ho🐽lders for the most F1 championships, with seven.
Even if Max Verstappen romps to a third consecutive title this season, as lo🐟oks likely, he remains a long way short of their tally.
“I don’t like driving not great cars,” Ha♒milton smiled to Fox Sports. “I don’t like driving a car that’s not the car that we weren’t meant to have but I love that challenge of ‘OK, what can I do with it?
“Wins are not possible right so what is the maximum we can get? “Can we be a little cheeky and if fifth is the best we can get, c🎃an we get a fourth or aও third?
“Just make sure we are consistent and fit and ready so when the car does all of a sudden 🤪switch on and it is the car you dreamed of haviﷺng, you’re ready.
“I am ready to win a w𒅌orld championship. I have prepared the🎃 best way I can this year - the best I have ever prepared - and if the car comes correct tomorrow I will be ready to fight for the world championship but unfortunately that's not the case.
“I am workingꩵ with everyone here and back at the factory to get there.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American spo🙈rts, to football, to F1.
