Lew🎃is Hamilton is not a “guarantee of success” at Ferr🍌ari because their car is still lacking, claims Giancarlo Minardi.

Ferrari were the only team to win an F1 gra𒆙nd prix apart from Red Bull last season, throug🍷h Carlos Sainz in Singapore, but they narrowly missed out on second-place in the constructors’ championship to Mercedes.

Next year they will welcome Hamilton𓃲 in a blockbuster swoop but one veteran of the F1 paddock has delivered a reminder that their car might still not be up to scratch.

“If we talk about marketing, it's a brilliant operation, so ဣhats off to John Elkann,” ex-F1🏅 team founder Minardi told .

“But if we talk about Formula 1 ♒then the s♎ituation changes.

“There are different dimensions. I am not naive, I understand the reasons that I will define as commercial of the great agreement between a seven-time champion of the world and the🐎 L♈ady in Red.

“It is a meeting be𒈔tween myth and legend. However…

"I, speaking instead of motorsport and that's it, wouldn't have taken som🃏eone like Hamilton.”

Minardi’s reasoning is nothing to do with age. Hamilton will be 40 when he drives a Ferrari for the first t💃ime.

“No, I swear that in my reasoning the registry office doesn't matt🌟er,” Minardi said.

“Fernando Alonso is even older than Lewis but is still 💝very strong. And Hamilton is sti🎀ll competitive too.

“So we have to ask ourselves: in all these years has Ferrari lost because o🍬f the fault of those who drove it?

“No, they have not 🤡been without titles for a generation due to the responsibility of those behind the wheelꦏ.

“It follows that Hamilton is no guarantee of success. Just as Sebastian Ve✨ttel wasn't.

“In F1 it is essential to have a winning car.

“You don't build a house from the roof, but from the👍 fo꧟undations.”

Fred Vasseur is entering his second year as Ferrari team principal knowing that the famous team have not crowned 𓆏an ꦓF1 champion since 2007.

Vasseur pinned do♊wn Charles Leclerc to a new multi-year agreement before confirming Ham𓄧ilton’s arrival next year.

Minardi asked: “But how will Leclerc take it?

“They ex🐼tended his contract saying they were betting everything on him.

“A week goes by and they put💦 a legend like Hamilton next to him…

“Lꦉet's say there is mo﷽re than one oddity in this story.

“And in any case I would have kept Carlos Sainz.

"But it may 𓃲be that he already has a long-term agreement with Audi, whi🍌ch will enter from 2026.

“In any case, I would have replaced him with a young talent, not with a forty-year-ꦰold champion.

“If Lewis wins the world💟 championship with Ferrari, I will be the first to ce🥃lebrate.

“I limit myself to expressing a scepticism which I hope is꧋ unfounded."

It is clear that Ferrari - and everybody else on the F1 grid❀ - lagged mass🔥ively behind Red Bull last year.

Red Bull are ther﷽efore expected to hit the ground running 💧this year.

Hamilton will join Fe🅠rrari in 2025, a year before the new regulations come into F1, which the Scuderia may hope is the dawn of a new era which suits them.