Lewis Hamilton is striking a difficult balancing act this year. While he tries to maximise his results in his final season with Mercedes, he’s also laying the groundwork for his move to Ferrari.
Hamilton announced at the start of February that he’d be making one of the most hotly-anticipated driver transfers in F1 history. His 11-year partnership with Mercedes will come to an end.
He’s previously said he’s looking forward to immersing himself within a new culture at Ferrari. The 39-year-old has spent the entirety of his career at British-based teams but will now be working from Maranello.
Sebastian Vettel thinks it will be difficult to adapt, having spent six seasons with the Scuderia himself between 2015 and 2020. Hamilton is going up against one of F1’s most highly-regarded drivers in Charles Leclerc, so he’ll need to deliver straight out of the blocks.
Leclerc says he’s already spoken to Hamilton about Ferrari’s performance level this year. The Scuderia have won two Grands Prix but have lost ground to Red Bull in the last two races.
Hamilton’s ultimate goal with the Prancing Horse is to win an unprecedented eighth world title. Michael Schumacher, the driver with whom he’s currently tied on seven, won five of his championships in their colours.
Lewis Hamilton asks Sebastian Vettel about Riccardo Adami
According to Italian F1 journalist Giuliano Duchessa, Hamilton has recently sought the advice of the now-retired Vettel. While the German wasn’t able to win the title at Ferrari, he did deliver 14 race wins.
The problem for Vettel, ironically, was that he was going up against the Hamilton and Mercedes dynasty. He finished runner-up behind the Briton in the championship in 2017 and 2018.
Hamilton apparently contacted him to ask about race engineer Riccardo Adami. Vettel worked with the Italian when he started out at Toro Rosso, and they later reunited at Ferrari.
Adami has assisted Carlos Sainz, the driver who will lose his seat to Hamilton, for the past three and a half seasons. Vettel’s appraisal was ‘excellent’, so Ferrari could maintain their current structure when their new signing arrives.
“I heard that Lewis called Seb some time ago to ask about Riccardo Adami in view of 2025,” Duchessa wrote. “Obviously the feedback on the qualities was excellent. While LEC is very happy with Bryan Bozzi so, barring any oddities, we can expect continuity.”
Will Peter Bonnington follow Hamilton to Ferrari?
Since Hamilton’s Ferrari move became public, many have wondered what the future holds for his current race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington. A relationship that stretches all the way back to 2013 could come to an end.
It’s previously been suggested that Hamilton could look to bring Bonnington with him to Italy. Ferrari have already poached key engineer Loic Serra and driver academy chief Jerome D’Ambrosio from the Silver Arrows.
But Mercedes will be determined to hold onto one of their most valued staff members. They may see him as the ideal mentor for 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli, who’s poised to succeed Hamilton.
Based on Duchessa’s report, the 103-time race-winner doesn’t seem optimistic about prising him away from Toto Wolff. He may have to adjust to a new voice over the team radio come the start of next year.
