“He will be remembered forever” – $6M worth former F1 team principal on Lewis Hamilton achieving success at Ferrari

F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2024 – Source: Getty

Former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner does not think Lewis Hamilton views the opportunity to join Ferrari in a pessimistic manner, as success at the team would add to his legacy. Lewis announced early in the year that he would be moving away from Mercedes at the end of the 2024 F1 season. The decision was made because the driver wanted to pursue an even bigger legacy of an eighth title with the Italian team.

At the time when the decision was made and announced to the world, it made sense. Ferrari was the second-fastest team on the grid. The gap between the Italian team and Red Bull was not massive. At the same time, Mercedes was struggling, and many F1 pundits feared that the good days were just too far for the German team.

Ferrari appeared to be the team on the ascendance, and the added legacy factor of winning with the Italian team lured Lewis Hamilton away from Mercedes. Halfway through the season, the German team has shown an impressive resurgence.

Lewis Hamilton himself has won two races, while teammate George Russell also has a win to his name. During all of this, Ferrari appears to be struggling in comparison. The team’s pursuit of upgrades has seen the team fall back in the pecking order behind the German squad as well. So much so that questions are being raised about whether Hamilton made the right call to join Ferrari.

Steiner feels that Hamilton would be focussing more on turning things around at Ferrari and trying to replicate the success he had at Mercedes. As quoted by RacingNews365, he said:

“Can you imagine if he starts to win with Ferrari, like he does now with Mercedes? What a hero he will be to the world. I mean, he’s already a legend without a doubt, but if he takes Ferrari to a world championship, and I think that is his dream and reason to go there, he will be remembered forever.”

He added:

“So obviously, he will be thinking ‘what if’ but he’s not lacking confidence. After seven times being a world champion, I think he is in a good space.”

Lewis Hamilton is focused on achieving success at Ferrari

Expanding on his point, Steiner felt that Hamilton’s focus would not be on whether he made the right or wrong call. His focus would be on trying to achieve success, and if he’s able to do that, it would help his legacy. He said (via the aforementioned source):

“I think Lewis is confident enough. He made the decision, he knows he can’t change it. Focus on what is coming and not regretting [it]. You can’t change it anyway. You need to focus on ‘how can we get what we have got out of Mercedes at Ferrari and win there?’”

Lewis Hamilton has signed a multi-year contract with Ferrari. The driver will team up with Charles Leclerc in what would ideally be considered the best driver lineup in F1 next season.