F1 News
Kravitz says Hamilton's £40million offer is too low: '£80million would do'
Rumours surrounding an offer from Ferrari for Lewis Hamilton to join the team are causing a stir. Ted Kravitz does not believe Hamilton will take them up, as he feels that the alleged £40million offer would be too low for the seven-time world champion.
Leclerc is Mercedes' insurance policy
While Kravitz does not believe that Hamilton will leave Mercedes, he does appear to believe that Ferrari are keen to have the Brit on board. In the Sky Sports podcast, the F1 analyst speculates on the situation: "Mercedes need an insurance policy if Lewis decides to either stop or leave. At the moment, that policy looks like Charles Leclerc."
Kravitz thinks Mercedes have set their sights on the Ferrari driver as a possible replacement for the seven-time world champion. For now, there are only noises coming from Ferrari in the direction of Hamilton. If Ferrari are really determined and want Hamilton, according to the Brit, they will have to come up with more than a £40m offer.
Kravitz describes errant Ferrari
Kravitz: "I think the £40m offer is a bit of a low-ball offer for Lewis Hamilton. It's probably £5m less than what he's on at the moment – and is something Mercedes are going to offer as part of not only the remainder of his driving career." In doing so, Kravitz reports that the fact in itself is not very striking. After all, Ferrari offers jobs to everyone. The new team boss, Frédéric Vasseur, is unintentionally reorganising within the team, following the departure of several leaders.
For instance, Red Bull Racing engineer Adrian Newey is also said to have been offered a lot of money for a place at Ferrari. Kravitz: "They are after the best and the biggest in Formula 1 at the moment as they seek to rebuild, so it shouldn't be a surprise if they offer Lewis Hamilton everything. If it was £80m that [Ferrari chairman] John Elkann had said, then that would get people's attention."