Riccardo Patrese feels "it's up to Ferrari to give Lewis Hamilton a car to compete for the F1 title"
10/03/2024 03:16 AM
The former F1 driver shared his thoughts on the Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari pairing for 2025, hinting at a potential battle between Lewis for his eighth title and Charles for his first.
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is becoming increasingly likely: Riccardo Patrese commented on this, explaining his point of view on the possibility of winning an eighth World Championship. However, Charles Leclerc’s excellent form could pose a challenge for the British driver.
Riccardo Patrese introduced the topic by trying to explain Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes after all these years. “Everyone loves the idea of going to Ferrari. Several world champions have done it: Vettel, Alonso, now Hamilton. In my opinion, Lewis realized he’s nearing the end of his career and decided to move to Maranello.” – he pointed out.
The former driver then shared that he had thought of a possible collaboration between Adrian Newey and Scuderia Ferrari. “I thought Adrian, being English like Hamilton, would decide to move to Maranello and say: ‘I’ll make Ferrari win and give Lewis his eighth World Championship.’ From my point of view, he would be able to do that. It would have been a business of Englishmen working for Ferrari.” – Riccardo Patrese added.
Regarding Ferrari’s decision to replace Carlos Sainz with Lewis Hamilton, Riccardo Patrese believes the Italian team made an excellent choice. However, when speaking about the chances of competing for the championship, the Italian explained: “Now it’s up to Ferrari to give Hamilton a car that can aim for the World Championship. Someone like Hamilton, if given the chance, is still capable of becoming world champion, just as Leclerc could be. There will be a great battle between the two.”
Riccardo Patrese then defended the Monegasque driver, who next year will find himself alongside a seven-time World Champion. “If the car performs as it is now, the peaks Charles Leclerc achieves might be harder for Lewis Hamilton to replicate. After seven World Championships and so many years in F1, motivation comes when you see that there is a real chance to achieve results.” – he concluded.
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