Hamilton's Ferrari Move Sparks Doubts Among F1 Veterans and Fans
Jan.13 - Flavio Briatore admits he wouldn't have signed Lewis Hamilton if he was in charge at Ferrari.
Last year, Audi boss Mattia Binotto caused a stir by declaring that, in Frederic Vasseur's shoes, he would have left Carlos Sainz alongside Charles Leclerc for 2025 and beyond.
Fellow Italian Briatore, the powerful executive advisor at Alpine, agrees.
"It will be strange to see him in Ferrari colours," the 74-year-old told Sport Bild.
"Of course I respect such a decision, but at the same time I wonder how sensible it was. Ferrari already had two top drivers - Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz," Briatore added. "I don't understand why they broke up a duo that worked.
"If I had been at the top of Ferrari, I wouldn't have hired Lewis," he said.
Just a few days ago, seven time world champion Hamilton turned 40, highlighting widespread anticipation about how long he can remain fully competitive.
Briatore thinks Ferrari may have signed the famous Briton for "financial reasons".
"If we look at the big picture, it is good for F1 that Lewis is driving for Ferrari," he said. "When the series is doing well, I'm happy. So it's a good thing in terms of television and viewership.
"We'll see how it works at Ferrari," Briatore added. "It cannot be forgotten that Charles benefits from speaking Italian in an Italian team."
Eurosport Italia believes Hamilton's first test for Ferrari will be over a full week in Barcelona at the end of January in a two-year-old (2023) car.
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Briatore is correct. Not a smart move by Ferrari, especially when they already had two very competitive drivers who were achieving good results for the team. Louise is over the hill and seems to have lost his incentive. His will to win seems to have waned and been replaced by continuing excuses the car is not competitive. We'll see what happens at Ferrari, although he's not as good these days as Alonso. It seems to be a trend that past F1 high achievers roar into Ferrari amid high enthusiasm and slink out with a whimper!
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