As the Mercedes farewell drew to a close, Lewis Hamilton has reportedly visited Maranello in a private meeting with Ferrari.
With the 2024 season already over, fans are eagerly waiting for Lewis Hamilton to arrive in Maranello. On the other hand, according to recent reports, the Briton had recently paid a visit to Ferrari‘s HQ in Maranello before his official switch next month.
Mercedes had planned a grand farewell for Lewis Hamilton after the final race in Abu Dhabi, which bound Lewis Hamilton to stay with the German outfit over the winter break.
These obligations were fulfilled as the farewell for the seven-time champion concluded at Brackley and Brixworth recently.
Now, according to Auto Racer, just after a week of the farewell celebrations coming to a closure, Hamilton has been reported to have visited Ferrari‘s HQ at Maranello. This visit is speculated to get the Briton and the Italian outfit on a level field and get prepared for the official visit next month.
Moreover, Hamilton is expected to run the SF-23 at Fiorano towards the later end of January next year. The Tifosi is expected to swarm the track on the day of the seven-time champion’s test, so Ferrari would not be able to maintain Hamilton’s arrival private in Maranello for long.
Ferrari expects Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to not trip over each other
On the other hand, experts have raised concerns over the intra-team dynamics at Ferrari next year. With Hamilton’s arrival, Charles Leclerc would have to fend off the seven-time champion in order to retain his status within the team. This would urge the Briton to level up his game and fight toe-to-toe with the Monegasque.
Despite the want of each driver to be the No.1 driver, team principal Fred Vasseur does not worry about such an instance. He warrants that the pair have mutual respect and would likely not trip over one another.
Charles and Lewis, I’m not particularly worried about this. They have a huge mutual respect, they know each other, they are speaking about this for months now and I think it is much better to fight for one-two or two-three on the grid than for 19-20.
Fred Vasseur said (via GrandPrix247)
Regardless of this, Hamilton is known for his fierce rivalries with his teammates. This might lead to the duo resorting to mind games that would screw over other’s strategies.
Thus, Scuderia’s decision to bring in the 39-year-old could potentially end up being a huge risk. So Vasseur would have to play a strong lead figure and stop the future scarlet duo from costing the team points or even championships in the grand scheme of things.
