Is Ferrari trying to sign Lewis Hamilton for next year? It definitely appears that way, as news sources from the UK and Italy indicate that Ferrari's higher management may be considering a move or may already have received an offer. With Mercedes failing for a second straight year and Hamilton's contract expiring at the end of this year, the lure of donning the red of Ferrari before his retirement may be too hard to resist. 40 million pounds is the figure that has been reported.
There is currently no convincing competitive justification for Hamilton to go from Mercedes to Ferrari. Although Ferrari made a much better start to the new regulations in 2022, it has taken a step back this year despite there being no real evidence to suggest that Mercedes has worse flaws relative to Red Bull than Ferrari does. This year, they both made mistakes, and Red Bull has left them both for dust.
If Hamilton had to choose between the two and felt that it wouldn't significantly affect his chances of being competitive, instead choosing which of the two teams to compete for second or third with, a Ferrari transfer may start to make sense. Given everything he has accomplished in his career, Hamilton wouldn't leave Formula One with major regrets if he never drives for Ferrari, but it could always linger as a what if?
Ferrari is almost certainly the only team other than Mercedes that Hamilton would want to drive for. Hamilton has previously expressed an air of it would have been great if I could have driven for Ferrari at some point.
We've evaluated the move's merits from Hamilton's perspective, but what about Ferrari's? If there is truth to this and Ferrari's key decision-makers are truly interested in Hamilton, it raises serious concerns about the team's philosophy. Signing a driver of Hamilton's calibre is never a mistake, but given Ferrari's current situation, it makes little sense that any issues it thinks his arrival could resolve wouldn't be the ones the team is currently facing.
According to the-race.com, Carlos Sainz said, “My immediate future, I only see it with Ferrari and wanting to be successful with this team. There’s nothing that would make me happier than winning again with Ferrari, than mounting a title challenge with Ferrari. If you win it or not, it’s a championship fight. You can come out on top or not. But mounting that challenge is short- and medium-term what really motivates me. I feel really at home with the team. There’s a good atmosphere.”
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