Formula E driver: 'If I was Ferrari, I would never have chosen Hamilton'
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
If Brazilian Formula E driver Lucas Di Grassi were the boss at Ferrari, he says he would have never hired Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton has officially driven his last race for Mercedes and is on his way to driver for Ferrari in 2025. However, Di Grassi would not have made the same choice regarding Hamilton's move.
Di Grassi would never have chosen Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton will drive for Ferrari from the 2025 season onward, joining teammate Charles Leclerc and team principal Frédéric Vasseur. Hamilton's move was highly unexpected and made waves in the Formula 1 community. Di Grassi, who drives for Formula E, disagrees with Ferrari's move to hire Hamilton.
"I would never hire Hamilton for Ferrari, if I were with Ferrari. First, he is expensive, and I don't think he is still in his prime. I would not hire Hamilton, but instead choose another driver who will reach his peak within Ferrari at the right time," Di Grassi told Motorsport.com.
Di Grassi believes that Hamilton is past his best days, and that he is not in his best shape in terms of driving, as now Hamilton relies on other qualities instead according to the Brazilian. Di Grassi explains: "[He] can get around this with experience, strategy, talking to the team and improving the team, improving the set-up, and understanding the car better."
"I don't think it's a question of the driver at Ferrari; it's much more a question of getting the car right. They have shown that now: when they got the car right, they were fighting for the constructors' title". He does not think that Hamilton will be able to do that and instead, that the seven-time champion will only help the team with their marketing. "I simply think that the maximum [he] will impact [in the short term] is from the point of view of marketing, but I think, from the point of view of the results, no," the former F1 driver concludes.
This article was written in collaboration with Esteban de Toom.
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