Lewis Hamilton caused a big surprise at the beginning of 2024 by announcing that he was switching to Ferrari. A long and successful collaboration with Mercedes thus comes to an end in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton becomes Charles Leclerc’s teammate and goes on the hunt for his eighth world title. Former Formula 1 driver Martin Donnelly thinks it is a strong move by Ferrari, he says in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.
“It’s a great move for Ferrari,” said Donnelly. “You bring in over a billion pounds of merchandising for the company. Few people realize how much money they make from merchandise. It’s good for the sport too.”
Yet it will not be an easy story for Hamilton, Donnelly thinks. “I don’t think he’ll walk into Leclerc’s backyard and just steal his football. It’s not going to be that easy. But it’s good for the sport, it’s good for the tifosi, who have someone else to cheer for. Also for Lewis, especially after the three years with porpoising (the bouncing of the car, ed.). In Interlagos they still suffered from that problem.”
Donnelly simply does not want to underestimate Leclerc. “But I think it is good for the sport that he went there. He has opened eyes. I don’t think Leclerc will be easy to beat. He is fast, I would say on his day he is just as fast like Lewis. Hopefully for them we see them at the front in terms of points in the Constructors’ Championship, along with Red Bull.”
