Ferrari 'courting' Lewis Hamilton for 'many months', John Elkann the 'driving force'
Ferrari had been interested in signing Lewis Hamilton for "so𒆙me months", with their president John Elkann the pushing the deal.
Ferrari president John Elkann has been the “driving force” behind them signing 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes for the 2025 F1 season.
Hamilton will team up with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Charles Leclerc for 2025, bringing an end to his long-🐷term alliance with Mercedes.
Since being 🃏in F1, Hamilton has only driven for Mercedes-powered teams - McLaren between 2007 and 2012, and Mercedes since 2013.
It’s a seismic move for ܫthe sport which sees its most successful driver in Hamilton j𒅌oining the most successful constructor in Ferrari.
Hamilton signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes in thไe middle of 2023, seemingly putting an end to speculat🅘ion over his future.
But now it is conf𒐪irmed th🍬at he will wear red next year.
As re✃vealed by Sky Sports F1 reporter Craig Slater, the current Ferrari president has been a major factor in bringing Hamilton to Maranello after ‘courting’ him for ‘some months’.
“My understanding is that this courtshi🌌p [between Ferrari and Hamilton] has been going on for some months,” Slater said. It’s not a sudden thing. John Elkann, the president and a very heavy-hitter, is very much at the centre of it and the driving force.
“Team pri꧋ncipal Fred Vasseur is someone Lewis knows from the junior days so ther💮e’s no friction there.
“It’s not like the chairman has signed someone over the manager’s back, tha♓t you sometimes get in football! Thi𝕴s isn’t like that.”
Slater believes going up Leclerc will be a “big challenge” for Ha💝milton - but not one he’s unfamiliar with.
“This is typical of Lewis Hamilton, ✅I have to say. Never been afraid of a challenge,” he added. “He comes into F1 with Fernando Alonso as his teammate and gets a result against him.
“He changes teams to an upstart team who hadn’t done very much, Mercedes, and goes up against Nico Rosberg, a fine operator, and gets the better of him. Happy t🐈o take on George Russell, one of the best of the young pr💟ospects in F1. And now this! Joining Ferrari where Leclerc is ensconced there.
“Clearly, Ferrari identified him as their priority, and tha🐽t’s why they signed him up rather than Carlos Sainz. He is managed🔴 by Nicolas Todt, the son of Jean Todt the legendary Ferrari team principal.
“So Lewis? This is a big challenge for him. He will be 40, going up against one of the quickest young drivers in the world. It would be a great scalp for Leclerc♒ to take, if he could out-score him over a year.”
♐With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
