The fact that Lewis Hamilton is hunting for his eighth Formula 1 title is no secret. Former F1 champion Nigel Mansell expects the 7x world champion to challenge for the championship with Ferrari next season.
Hamilton lost the title battle to Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in the controversial last-lap battle during the 2021 season finale at Abu Dhabi.
Since then, the 38-year-old Brit has not been able to challenge the Dutchman due to the lack of performance from the Mercedes-AMG’s race cars. Despite the odds, Hamilton has managed to finish on the podium on several occasions.
This season, he went a few steps further by winning two Grand Prix (Great Britain and Belgium). Hamilton’s shift to Ferrari next year now seems more strategic, considering the upward trend shown by both the F1 legend and the Italian marquee in 2024.
also-read-trendingTrending
Former Formula 1 champion and ex-Ferrari driver Nigel Mansell shared his opinion on Lewis Hamilton’s future with the ‘Scarlet Red’ team in an exclusive interview with Top Offshore Sportsbooks. The retired British racer expects the 7x champ to challenge for his eighth title next season with Ferrari.
“I’ve been a Lewis (Hamilton) fan all the time and I predicted he’d be one of the best of the best ever. He’s done that. He gets a lot of criticism. I think what he’s done now to end his career in Formula One, going to Ferrari is a magical step for him,” Mansell commented.
“Give Lewis the car, he’ll get the job done. And so I predict that he will have a fabulous time at Ferrari. He’ll go into a different gear. He’ll be motivated again. And I expect Lewis to challenge for the World Championship in 2025. Lewis is eccentric at times, but Lewis is a class act,” He added.
Mansell’s aforementioned claim about Hamilton was shared by Autosport on X. Here’s a look at the post, captioned:
“Nigel Mansell believes Lewis is going to have a ‘fabulous’ time at Ferrari”
“It will be super interesting for me to learn from Lewis” – Charles Leclerc keen to learn from Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari
Apart from Nigel Mansell, Charles Leclerc is also excited about the British driver joining Ferrari next year. In an interview with ESPN, the young Monegasque racer said he is keen to learn from the 7x F1 world champion in the 2025 season.
“He has very little weaknesses, well actually, I don’t know any weaknesses of Lewis, he’s a super strong driver, always there, super fast, super consistent. So for me it is going to be super interesting to be able to actually look at the data and know that whatever he does I can do, because we have the same car,” Leclerc said.
“It will be super interesting for me to learn from Lewis as much as showing what I am capable of in the same car as Lewis. These two things motivate me a lot,” he added.
As of now, Hamilton is placed sixth in the Drivers’ championship with 174 points, while Leclerc is in third position with 245 points. Both drivers have won two Grand Prix each in 2024.
Edited by Luke Koshi
