Ferrari start to Ham it up
Lewis meets Italians for talks
LEWIS HAMILTON last night fluttered his eyelashes at Ferrari, as the wooing and cooing over his future hotted up in the desert.
The six-time world champion is available from 2021 and there is now a two-way fight for his services, between the Scuderia and his current Mercedes team.
Any uncertainty over Ferrari’s intentions, and Hamilton’s receptiveness to the overtures, were blown away after Hamilton claimed pole position for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Brit spoke warmly of Ferrari while his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he would allow his star man to talk to the Italian team.
Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian sports daily paper, claimed Hamilton has already met Ferrari chairman John Elkann, the grandson of Gianni Agnelli.
Hamilton smiled contentedly as he was told of the praise team principal Mattia Binotto showered on him the day before. Perhaps aware of Elkann’s position, he described Hamilton as a ‘fantastic’ driver and said he was ‘happy’ the most successful driver of his generation is available at the end of his existing £40million-a-year contract.
Hamilton, who turns 35 next month, said: ‘That’s the first compliment I have had from Ferrari in 13 years. I don’t remember he has mentioned me before, ever, ever. It is nice after all these years. They are a team I have always appreciated. To get the respect of someone high up there is not a bad thing.
‘Who knows what will happen in the driver market or how negotiations will go in the next few months.’
Back in the Mercedes motorhome, Wolff was asked about Hamilton’s Ferrari-friendly words. ‘I’m totally OK with that,’ he said. ‘It is a free world. Everybody has the right to explore career options and make the best choice for themselves, racing drivers included. Everybody has their own objectives. We have to push hard to provide the drivers with the best possible cars. If we are able to do that, I believe we will have the best driver line-up. My priority is to continue this successful journey with Lewis but if that ends one day I’d be the first to cheer [for him].’
Part of Hamilton has always been attracted by Ferrari. He drives their road cars, provided by a dealership in Beverly Hills. If he were to join them, he would almost certainly replace Sebastian Vettel, who has struggled to justify his £36million-a-year salary.
How much of this talk represents negotiating poses and how much reflects definite intent is hard to judge for now. The best thing for the sport would be the excitement generated by Hamilton jumping ship and aiming to eclipse Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles in a red car. Mercedes are watching
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as a possible replacement. That would add a new dimension of fun, too.
But Wolff said: ‘ We will not embark on a fishing mission with other drivers before Lewis and I have the discussion and it hasn’t yet taken place.’
In qualifying, Hamilton pipped his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.194sec, with Verstappen third. But Bottas will be sent to the back of the grid for an engine change, promoting Verstappen.