Lewis Hamilton has just six races left as a Mercedes driver before joining Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton is just weeks away from becoming a Ferrari driver, but the deal may never have happened if Mattia Binotto was still team principal.
The F1 Paddock was shocked earlier this year, when Hamilton signed Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season and agreed to leave Mercedes.
The switch ends the career partnership between Hamilton and Mercedes.
When the first new thing flashed, Hamilton called him a child’s dream to make Ferrari. Of course, every driver grows up, looks at the history, looks at Michael Schumacher in his prime, and I think we’re all probably sitting in the garage, the screens come on, you see the driver in the red cockpit, and you wonder what it’s like to be surrounded by red,” he said.
“When I go to the Italian Grand Prix and see the sea of red Ferrari fans, I can only be in awe.”The team hasn’t had much success recently, since 2007, but I thought it was a big challenge.
“Obviously, since I was a kid I’ve been playing as Michael in that car so it’s definitely a dream come true and I’m really, really excited.”
But this dream might not have come true if Binotto was still Ferrari’s team boss.
The Italian is set to step down at the end of the 2022 season and be replaced by Frédéric Vasseur.
Hamilton and Vasseur have worked together previously before both made a name for themselves in F1. But Binotto has revealed he wouldn’t have made the same decision as his predecessor.
When Cholera Delo Sports asked, he would have moved to Hamilton in response to Ferrari’s responsibility, Binot answered: “No, he went very well to Ferrari, I I agree with his decision.
54 -Year -Old states that Charles Lucrail is a priority for him in Ferrari, suggesting that the arrival of Hamilton could comply with his development.
Ferrari focused on other drivers, “he said. And if the talent is a re -prise, I think it should be in some form.
Hamilton wants to end the time with Mercedes at a high level in the last six races of the season. He currently leads teammate George Russell by 19 points heading into this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.