Ferrari, no test for Lewis Hamilton: the Mercedes wound remains open
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Lewis Hamilton will not be able to start his collaboration with Scuderia Ferrari ahead of time. Despite the 2024 Formula championship season being one of the most exciting in recent years, many are eagerly awaiting the next racing campaign. Since the announcement of Lewis joining the Prancing Horse, both Ferrari fans and supporters of the British driver have been anxiously awaiting the debut of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion with the Italian team. As has happened several times in the past, it was thought that the Englishman might get the opportunity to step into the cockpit of the SF-24 single-seater as early as Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island.
The occasion would have been to test the Maranello team’s car during the post-season testing session which is planned to take place after the final stage of the season. Almost certainly, however, from what has been learned, we will have to wait until the new year in order to see Lewis Hamilton in action with Ferrari, as his contract with Mercedes, which runs until the end of the world championship, includes several promotional events that the seven-time Formula 1 world champion must attend for the German side. In short, despite the excellent relations between team principals Toto Wolff and Frédéric Vasseur, there are no conditions to release Lewis from his existing contractual obligations.
It is clearly a situation in which the British driver is emotionally torn. On the one hand, he cannot push back against the team that gave him the chance to win six world titles and has supported him all the way. Yet, at the same time, Lewis Hamilton would like to accelerate his learning process within the Ferrari garage. Undoubtedly, the post-championship testing session could have been a great opportunity to shorten the time for mutual understanding and to get familiar with the Maranello team. A first chance to understand how the historic team works and to get a first taste of what's to come.
It is impossible to know if the real veto came from Toto Wolff or from Mercedes itself as a slight retaliation for Lewis Hamilton's decision not to use the option to continue their collaboration until the end of the next season. What is certain is that we won't see the British driver in white overalls like the ones Michael Schumacher wore in the winter of 1995 when Benetton allowed him to be released early from his contractual obligations. This was possible because Ferrari, in turn, gave the same consent to Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger, who both moved to the team led at that time by Italian manager Flavio Briatore.
After all, the boss leading the Mercedes team has made no secret that the British driver’s decision to succumb to the allure of the Maranello team caught him by surprise and, in a way, disappointed him: Toto Wolff expressed that his personal relationship with Lewis Hamilton hadn’t suffered following the decision and pointed out that, by putting himself in Lewis Hamilton’s position, he could understand the call made by the seven-time Formula 1 world champion to move to Ferrari. The German team had been underperforming, Lewis Hamilton was in the final phase of his career, and it is a well-known fact that all drivers aspire to wear Ferrari's red suit at some point of their careers. At the same time, Toto Wolff also acknowledged that the financial terms were likely very favorable. He concluded by saying that he understood Lewis Hamilton’s reasons and felt at peace with him.
“Our relationship is much deeper, but we didn’t part amicably,” was the last sentence that suggests a certain bitterness has inevitably developed. The Austrian manager, on more than one occasion, emphasized that the non-consensual separation from Lewis Hamilton, who chose to go to Ferrari, has not affected the personal sphere. However, some professional dissatisfaction is present, this is clear. In a sport like Formula 1, where details make the difference, why provide an advantage, however small, to a future competitor?
And what will Ferrari do with Carlos Sainz? The Maranello team finds itself in a somewhat similar situation as Mercedes. Carlos Sainz is set to leave for Williams because Ferrari has decided to move on from his services in order to welcome Lewis Hamilton with open arms. Former Mercedes team member, British James Vowles, in this case, may hope that the historic Italian team will allow the Spanish driver to take part in the Yas Marina tests after the last event of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, which will be held in Abu Dhabi. The relations between the two teams are good, and this agreement could be reached.
To put it bluntly, we must reiterate that Carlos Sainz has been dropped by Ferrari, and it certainly would not make sense to use the son of the two-time rally world champion in the final tests of the season. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur could therefore release Carlos Sainz as a sign of recognition for the good work the Spanish driver has done during his time in red and for his great professionalism, always demonstrated in these four seasons with the team based in Maranello. On the other hand, Williams is unlikely to be a direct competitor to Ferrari in the next campaign.
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