Former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto wouldn’t have signed Lewis Hamilton had he still been in charge, believing the Briton risks destabilising the team’s long-term championship plan centred around Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton blindsided Formula 1 and his Mercedes team by announcing a blockbuster switch to Ferrari for 2025 in February, ending an 18-year association with Mercedes via its factory team and former de facto works squad McLaren.
He will partner Leclerc until at least the end of 2026, replacing Carlos Sainz, who now joins Williams. The partnership between Leclerc and Sainz proved productive for Ferrari, as the two men were equals and pushed each other to new competitive heights during their three-and-a-half seasons as teammates.
But Hamilton’s interest in signing the letter of intent proved too much for Vasseur, a team with what is likely to be the strongest line-up on the grid next season.
Binotto, who then took the reins at Sauber before joining Audi’s factory team, did not see the same appeal, telling Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that bringing Hamilton into the team risked disqualifying Leclerc as Ferrari’s long-term leader.
“Ferrari has to focus on other drivers,” he said. “And if that talent is Leclerc, I think he should accompany them to the finish line somehow.”
The former manager said he would not pursue Hamilton, but believes the seven-time champion’s move to Maranello was the right decision. “No [I wouldn’t have signed him],” he said. “But he did very well to go to Ferrari. I agree with his decision. »
Earlier this year, Leclerc said he was looking forward to Hamilton’s contribution to Ferrari’s mission to close the gap to the peloton leaders.
“When you have a champion like Lewis coming to the team, it brings a lot of motivation for everyone,” he said on the Beyond the Grid podcast. “He will come with all the experience he has gained over the years at Mercedes – a different way of working, a different vision, which will always benefit the team.”
Leclerc also said he was looking forward to comparing himself with the 105-race winner as the sport’s most prolific benchmark.
“Of course, for me it’s incredible, because the most successful driver in the history of F1 will be in the same car as me,” he said. “For me it will be very exciting, rewarding and motivating to beat Lewis and show what I’m capable of.
“With Lewis joining the team, it will be very important for me to be at my highest level because he will definitely be the benchmark.”
In an interview with ESPN, the Monegasque said he was also excited by the opportunity to learn from a driver with twice as much experience as him in F1.
“I’m very interested to see what he’s done throughout his career to achieve this level of success,” he said. “He has very few weaknesses. In fact, I don’t know any weaknesses of Lewis.
“He’s a very strong driver, always at the top, very fast and very consistent. It will be very interesting to look at the data and understand that everything he does, I can do it too, because we have the same car.
“Now, yes, you learn from other drivers, but when I look at its data, and it is much faster in a corner [in Mercedes], you always have doubts about whether my car is able to do what He is doing but next year, there will no longer be such a question. So it will be huge. Of course, he says he formed the team during his reign.
“Fred was able to continue the project for the sake of continuity,” he said. “He has not revolutionized the structured and functional organization.
“He also made his own choice, but I repeat: if Ferrari wins, I am happy because I know the team, and I know how much efforts have been spent to take it to a certain level.
“I am happy when I see the reds win. I am especially happy for that team that I know thoroughly and to which I believe I have made a contribution.”
Ferrari is third in the constructors championship, 34 points behind Red Bull Racing in second and 75 points behind leader McLaren. Leclerc is third in the drivers’ championship, 34 points behind runner-up Lando Norris and 86 behind defending champion Max Verstappen.
Sainz is fifth, 55 points behind Leclerc and 16 behind Hamilton.
