F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Faces Obstacles At Ferrari According To Martin Brundle
Sky Sports F1 presenter and commentator Martin Brundle has highlighted potential challenges for Lewis Hamilton with his upcoming move to Ferrari in 2025.
Key Takeaways:
- Hamilton will face challenges including a language barrier and integration into the Italian-centric Ferrari team.
- The move ends Hamilton's streak with English-based teams, introducing a new dynamic to his career.
- Ferrari expects Hamilton to lead them to their first championship in over a decade, adding pressure to his transition.
As seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton prepares to leave Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of the season, the Formula 1 community is full of speculation about the potential hurdles he will face. Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has voiced concerns that Hamilton's lack of Italian could complicate his integration into the predominantly Italian team. This transition marks a significant shift for Hamilton, who has spent the entirety of his F1 career with UK-based teams, with his last non-English team experience dating back to 2006 in the GP2 championship.
Hamilton's surprise move to the Maranello-based squad not only adds a new chapter to his illustrious career but also places him at the heart of Ferrari's ambition to end a 15-year championship drought. The pressure is on, as Ferrari looks to Hamilton to bring his winning pedigree to the team and spearhead their title aspirations alongside Charles Leclerc.
Despite the anticipated challenges, Hamilton's reunion with Fred Vasseur, his former team boss at ART Grand Prix, offers a glimmer of familiarity. Vasseur's leadership at Ferrari and his previous working relationship with Hamilton could play a pivotal role in easing the transition. Brundle, speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, acknowledged the respect Hamilton commands within the sport, suggesting that his influence might mitigate some of the integration challenges. He commented:
“He’s got to integrate, and it’s hard because I don’t think he’ll speak the language.
“He certainly won’t speak the language and know the team like Charles Leclerc does.
“So you’ve got to go and find out where all the buttons are to press, and that’s why I think Lewis will want to try to take a few people with him. But there’ll be non-compete clauses where he can’t really do that.
“But you really want to take some of your own gang with you when you go so that you can hit the ground running.
“But I think he’ll have such respect there any way that if Lewis says, ‘I want the back wheels put on the front’, they’ll go, ‘Straight away'."