Hamilton can breathe easy

No chance of Ferrari keeping Sainz

THERE is no chance of Ferrari performing a U-turn on their move to bring Lewis Hamilton to Maranello, according to F1 analyst Mark Gallagher. The seven-time world champion shocked the motorsport world when he agreed to join the Prancing Horse back in February, but his worrying start to the 2024 campaign has raised some concerns.

Hamilton went into the new season with momentum having secured a P3 Drivers’ Championship finish behind the two Red Bulls with a round to spare in 2023, but this did not translate to strong results on track.

Addressing the chances of a Ferrari U-turn, Gallagher told Express Sport: “No, it’s not going to happen, and one thing is for sure, one thing that comes across is that people who are writing these topics have no inside information of what is going on.

“There is the lunatic fringe that makes stories up but the one thing that is certain is that Ferrari made a decision not to re-sign Carlos Sainz based on the fact that he has been with them for a few years and has won Grand Prix races during that time, but the future lies with Lewis Hamilton.

“That’s going to be for a whole bunch of reasons far beyond the very narrow view of what some people think about what has been going on in the last few races.

“Ferrari know that Carlos (Sainz) is a very capable driver and a very smart guy, but they also know that in Lewis Hamilton, they not only have a formidable driver, but they also have somebody with the name of Lewis Hamilton that will create the most incredible buzz.

“I was in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and everyone was saying ‘gosh, I can’t wait for Melbourne next year because Hamilton will walk out of the garage with his red overalls on for the first time and it’s going to be so exciting.’ There’s no chance of backtracking by Ferrari.” – Express Newspapers