Hamilton’s Legacy in F1 and the Challenges Forward at Ferrari
From the second Lewis Hamilton burst onto the System 1 scene along with his spectacular rookie season at McLaren in 2007, he has remained on the coronary heart of the game. That yr, he and teammate Fernando Alonso got here agonizingly near clinching the championship, solely to see Kimi Räikkönen snatch the title in a dramatic season finale.
A yr later, Hamilton secured his first world title in breathtaking vogue, and from that time onward, it was by no means a matter of if however when he would rewrite the report books. Over time, he has amassed extra race wins, pole positions, quickest laps, and podiums than any driver in F1 historical past.
But, two vital milestones nonetheless elude him—data that he would undoubtedly love to assert throughout his time at Ferrari. The primary is surpassing Michael Schumacher’s seven world championships, a feat that might carry further weight given Schumacher’s legendary standing on the Scuderia. The second, nevertheless, is solely past his management. To grow to be the driving force with essentially the most Grand Prix begins, Lewis Hamilton should anticipate Fernando Alonso’s eventual retirement, because the Spaniard at present holds that distinction.
Although his Ferrari tenure has solely simply begun, Lewis Hamilton has already damaged one report—beforehand held by his new teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Forward of the 2025 System 1 season and Lewis Hamilton’s much-anticipated debut in pink, former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger shared his ideas with Auto Motor und Sport. Whereas the previous System 1 driver sees the change to Maranello as a revitalizing transfer for Lewis Hamilton’s profession, he additionally believes Charles Leclerc’s presence may pose a big problem in his pursuit of an eighth title.
Gerhard Berger Foresees Leclerc as a Main Impediment for Hamilton at Ferrari
Gerhard Berger was requested about Hamilton’s prospects at Ferrari for the upcoming season and steered that the transfer may present the recent motivation the seven-time champion wants. He identified that Hamilton had confronted two main challenges in recent times—Mercedes had solely been aggressive on uncommon events, and spending so lengthy with the identical workforce had left him in want of a change of setting.
Gerhard Berger famous that ending in fifth place was unlikely to encourage Hamilton, however he believed the Briton would want to push himself more durable at Ferrari, which may carry out his greatest as soon as once more. Nonetheless, he additionally predicted that Hamilton would possibly battle in opposition to Charles Leclerc’s uncooked velocity, anticipating a carefully contested battle between the 2.
When requested whether or not he believed Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari can be a profitable pairing, Berger expressed confidence that they’d work nicely collectively. He added that if the British driver have been to win a world championship with Ferrari, it will be one of the vital moments in System 1 historical past from a advertising and marketing perspective.
Though Hamilton’s marketability is simple, Ferrari’s determination to signal him was pushed by way over simply business enchantment.
One of many key challenges he could face is Charles Leclerc’s distinctive one-lap tempo, which has made him one of the formidable qualifiers on the grid. If Hamilton can match or surpass Leclerc in that space, his probabilities of contending for the championship shall be considerably strengthened.
Gerhard Berger Provides Daring Forecast for Ferrari’s 2025 Constructors’ Title Hopes
When requested about his prediction for the 2025 Constructors’ Championship, Gerhard Berger acknowledged that he would place his guess on Ferrari. Whereas he couldn’t say for sure whether or not Hamilton or Leclerc would safe the drivers’ or constructors’ title, he was assured that the workforce would declare not less than one championship by the top of the season.
Gerhard Berger identified that Ferrari had proven robust tempo all through the earlier yr, regardless of occasional inconsistencies. He expressed belief in Fred Vasseur’s capacity to eradicate these fluctuations, acknowledging that whereas it had taken time, the workforce now seemed to be on the verge of attaining larger stability.
He additionally highlighted Ferrari’s robust place by way of each engine and chassis improvement, together with the power of their driver lineup. Gerhard Berger praised Fred Vasseur’s management, describing him as composed, strategic, and constantly efficient—a high quality he had demonstrated all through his motorsport profession.
In keeping with Gerhard Berger, Ferrari made a sensible determination in appointing Fred Vasseur, although it was all the time anticipated that his influence would take a yr or two to materialize. Now, he believed the outcomes of that work have been starting to indicate. He additionally recommended Vasseur’s transfer to carry Hamilton on board, expressing confidence that beneath his steering, Ferrari would return to the highest of System 1.
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