Jacky Ickx: "Lewis Hamilton is a unique driver who wants to dye his heart red"

12/31/2024 01:18 PM

The opinion of a former Maranello man on a future Ferrari driver
The collective anticipation continues to grow as fans await the first images of Lewis Hamilton in red and behind the wheel of a Ferrari, but in the meantime, various viewpoints and comments persist regarding the seven-time world champion's move to Maranello after a career spent mainly with McLaren and Mercedes. One of the latest comments came from a former driver who won all of his F1 Grand Prix races with Ferrari, becoming a two-time world championship runner-up and winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times: Jacky Ickx.

Champion on and off the track
The Belgian, who will turn 80 on January 1, praised Hamilton's qualities in an interview with racingnews365.com, not limiting himself solely to Sir Lewis’s talent. For one of motorsport’s legends, in fact, Hamilton should be recognized for all the activities he has engaged in outside of competition: "If you refer to Lewis, for me he is a unique driver," he explained. "He is like Ayrton Senna, you have Max Verstappen, you have Michael Schumacher, and Juan Manuel Fangio in the early days: these people have a small advantage over others, but for me, he has a double advantage because he is a very human person who has never been afraid to get involved in Black Lives Matter, for example. He's the only one I know today who fully commits to something, and perhaps this quality is even more impressive when you see what he does, what he cares about with his foundation. No one has ever done that before."

A 'red stain'
Jacky Ickx, who achieved his best results with Ferrari, is also convinced that Hamilton's move to Maranello represents a great desire for the English driver to "stain" his heart red: "It's clear that if you are with Ferrari for a few years after being with other brands for 10 years or more, it's evident that your heart ends up dyed red. I see that even Lewis is attracted to being there for the end of his career. Honestly, it's fantastic because only he knows what he can do and where he wants to go." – the former Ferrari driver pointed out.

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