Mansell believes in Hamilton: 'I won my championship in F1 at 39'
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Nigel Mansell is confident that Lewis Hamilton can hunt for his eighth world title at Ferrari. The former Formula One driver stresses that age will not be a factor for the Briton when he joins the Scuderia in 2025 at the age of 40.
While there is plenty of speculation about how the Mercedes driver will fare against his future teammate Charles Leclerc, the sensational switch has also sparked a debate about whether the move is too late in the seven-time world champion's career.
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Mansell, who was 39 when he won the world title with Williams in 1992, thinks age is not a big factor for Hamilton at all. Motivation, on the other hand, is, as Fernando Alonso still proves today at the age of 42.
Mansell expects a titanic battle between Hamilton and Verstappen
"People are saying Lewis is now too old. At 39? No. I won my championship at 39 and I could have gone on, but the politics got involved," the 70-year-old Briton told BBC Sport. "But Lewis, if he’s motivated, he’s got several, if not a lot more years left, I think it’s just fantastic."
Looking to the future, Mansell expects to see titanic battles between Hamilton and Max Verstappen, among others. "Lewis can do it, but I’m sure Max will do everything he can to stop him. And I’m sure Ferrari this next year will do everything they can to stop him," he continued. "But I think we’ve got a great Formula 1 season coming up, and it certainly looks like we’re going to have an exciting one in 2025."