Lewis Hamilton: the Ferrari guarantee that opens up unexpected F1 technical scenarios
02/05/2024 14:44
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Scuderia Ferrari has certainly shaken the world of Formula 1 even before the start of the 2024 season. The seven-time Formula 1 British world champion, after a lifetime with the Mercedes brand, is ready to embark on a new adventure at the age of 40, presumably his last in the most important motorsport category, after a series of not-so-hidden negotiations that lasted over time.
Frederic Vasseur’s presence at the helm of the Prancing Horse has certainly opened up every possibility, with the collaboration of President John Elkann, a longtime admirer of the British Formula 1 driver despite the fact that he has a been a rival of the Maranello team for almost two decades. However, it must also be said that the assurances in the Brackley environment have been diminishing over the last few seasons, with Mercedes being a poor shadow of the winning team admired until the end of 2021, namely when Lewis himself was robbed of a championship in favor of Max Verstappen, who since that moment has been the absolute dominator of Formula 1.
Lewis Hamilton’s move can open up several scenarios: his arrival at Ferrari shifts attention, sponsors (and HP might not be a coincidence in this regard), but most importantly top technicians. On this point, the Italian side must necessarily aim to provide the British champion and Charles Leclerc with a car capable of competing for race victories and championships, and let’s say that the rumors swirling around a possible arrival of Adrian Newey in red don’t seem entirely coincidental.
Ferrari, an environment ready to welcome Hamilton (and Adrian Newey?)
The internal environment at the Ferrari Racing Department, it is known, has always been very peculiar. Far from the classic British method, this aspect has certainly given uniqueness to the Maranello team throughout its glorious existence, but perhaps in recent times, there has been a need to steer the working methodology as well because victories, unfortunately, have not been consistently in the hands of the red team, with Red Bull (on two separate occasions) and Mercedes dominating Formula 1 from 2010 onwards.
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A few sporadic victories, which are always exciting, are no longer enough, and for this reason, Frederic Vasseur’s arrival has sent a strong signal: enough with the wrong approach and timing in making decisions, meaning everyone should stay in their lane and focus on their respective tasks without intervening in extraneous matters. The most glaring example is the detachment from sports affairs of Benedetto Vigna, chief executive officer of Ferrari, who reportedly had disagreements with the former Alfa Romeo Sauber French manager at the beginning of last Formula 1 season.
The 2023 championship for the red team, we remember it well, was terrible, and Fred Vasseur, as a newcomer to the environment, understood the need to clean up the work method in the Sporting Management. The other branches of the company should do their job without any interference, and the former Apple man seems to have understood this. How do they say it these days? Let good ol’ Fred cook in peace, or something like that. Well, let’s say the ingredients are starting to be of higher quality now.
Ferrari with Hamilton, a dream team to return to success
Formula 1 chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali has recently “warned” Lewis Hamilton: in Ferrari, there is a mentality that certainly does not reflect what the seven-time world champion has experienced in his stints at McLaren and Mercedes. Obviously, the former team principal of the red team, now at the helm of Formula 1, knows very well what this is all about, even though it has been ten years since his absence from Maranello.
What the Briton will find will be an environment perhaps not British, but certainly different, more modern, with fewer various worries. A context in which everyone has a clearly defined role, where work is done better and with more serenity. Certainly, until 2021/2022, this kind of market movement would not have been possible, given the confusion that reigned supreme in the Sporting Management in the last decade, and a champion like Lewis Hamilton would never have dreamt of leaving Mercedes, despite the problems that had arisen in the last two years.
And then, there’s the Adrian Newey issue, which is now difficult to ignore whenever Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton or Frederic Vasseur are mentioned. The English car designer, evidently tired of what is happening in the Red Bull company, would only arrive under conditions specifically set by him, in a work environment that now has all the necessary cards to compete with the dominant Austrian force for years, and with two drivers of absolute level behind the wheel, one of whom has won seven world titles. Lewis Hamilton could be the Ferrari-branded guarantee to achieve a glorious partnership that has been dreamed of for decades and never truly fulfilled. Only time will tell.
It has been a very long few weeks, but in the end, the die has been cast: Adrian Newey effectively leaves the Red Bull F1 team with immediate effect and begins a period of departure from Formula 1 to focus on the Hypercar RB17 until the end of his tenure, which, however, has been brought forward from the natural expiration of his contract: in fact, the English engineer will not leave the Red Bull company at the end of 2025, but, as stated in the press release, in the first quarter of next year.
No real surprise, if you will, except for how the Anglo-Austrian team wanted to lay down the note that officially announces the separation with Adrian Newey: now, it seems, the British car designer will have more of a supervisory role in the team on the track, and will take part, as stated in the press release, in some specific races to support the team on the track, but staying out of the technical project.
Adrian Newey will now focus on the RB17 hypercar, after which he will be effectively free from any commitment. The feeling is that the gardening leave in the Formula 1 environment has effectively started today, with a duration of around 11 to 12 months. This would mean being able to join another Formula 1 team, including Ferrari, during this same period but in 2025, so as to be fully involved in the project of the car that will hit the track in 2026.
Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull therefore opens the way for him to become a member of Ferrari. The Maranello team has been working on this for a long time, and as we have already reported in recent weeks, talks have been ongoing in recent months, and it seemed only a matter of days before the separation between the Englishman and the Milton Keynes team materialized.
A divorce that had been in the air for some time, and which became more and more clear by seeing how Pierre Waché’s position has increased dramatically in recent months, so much so that the Frenchman will head the project that will see the new Red Bull F1 cars take shape, especially from the 2026 championship onwards with the arrival of the new technical aerodynamic and power unit regulations. So, in fact, Adrian Newey has been shown the door for some time now, much to the annoyance and distress of those who still claim it was just fake news.
This morning the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport also loaded the gun, speaking of a meeting between Adrian Newey and Frederic Vasseur, the team principal of the Scuderia, in London yesterday evening. In fact, the Frenchman has not yet reached the team in Miami, the venue for the next Formula 1 GP, and the announcement is expected in the coming days, probably after the race in Florida this weekend.
It would be the icing on the cake of an exceptional job done in recent months by the former Alfa Sauber manager and President John Elkann, who would therefore bring Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Newey to Ferrari in a matter of months, something truly deserving of applause that few expected and could give rise to a winning cycle with a dream team that has not been present in Maranello for a long time.
Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
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