F1 winner questions if Ferrari are ‘regretting’ Lewis Hamilton-Carlos Sainz decision.
Will Ferrari regret their decision to let Carlos Sainz go? That question has been posed by a former F1 race winner.
16 Apr 2024
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Former F1 driver Mark Webber has questioned whether Ferrari may be “regretting” their decision to drop Carlos Sainz for Lewis Hamilton. “Look if you can’t get motivated because you don’t have a contract in your top pocket, you’re in strife,” eight-time grand prix winner Webber told C4.

“I think he’s a man on a mission now, he’s got the bit between his teeth, and obviously he’s driving brilliantly. Ferrari, you know, are they regretting their move?”

However, ex-F1 driver turned pundit and commentator Martin Brundle feels it is a pointless debate as he assessed Ferrari’s decision on the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast. “There’s no point Ferrari looking over their shoulder and wondering that. They made their decision, they wanted Lewis in the car, they’ve got him and they’ll make the most of it.”

‘Questions if Ferrari are regretting’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104691...n-carlos-sainz


‘I don’t see much good anymore’ – Dutch pundit’s Lewis Hamilton ‘past his prime’ verdict
15 Apr 2024 7:30 AM
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

Hamilton has recorded his worst-ever start to a Formula 1 season with just ten points in four Grands Prix, while the team is only a point ahead of Aston Martin in the fight for fourth place.

“It’s all just so bad,” Dutch racing driver Michael Bleekemolen told RacingNews365. “I think he’s past his prime. Things aren’t going well for him either. I don’t see much point in him anymore.” And it won’t get better when he joins Ferrari with Bleekemolen saying:

“Maybe he will end up in the top two or three again, that could just be possible. That won’t be easy, but it would be nice. I just don’t think it’s going to happen.” As for whether Hamilton could still win a record-breaking eighth World, he simply said: “No.”

‘Past his prime’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/i-dont...-prime-verdict


Alain Prost assesses Lewis Hamilton motivation in Max Verstappen Red Bull roadblock theory
16 Apr 2024 11:30 AM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Four-time World Champion Alain Prost believes Lewis Hamilton could re-find his motivation at Ferrari, theorising that the presence of Max Verstappen is what made a Red Bull move impossible.

Discussing Hamilton’s Ferrari move with Sports Illustrated, Prost said: “I can understand his decision because obviously when you are in a team like Mercedes, when they did not win a race for two years and they are really struggling to go back to the front, and at his age he has said, ‘Okay, why not try something different’.

“[He has had] such a long period with an English-[based] team, Mercedes, with a way of working and then you go to an Italian team, especially with the different pressure, different way of thinking, he is under pressure from the media. I think it’s not that easy.” Hamilton will hope to achieve that elusive eighth World Championship with Ferrari which would see him set the new outright F1 record.

‘Alain Prost assesses Lewis Hamilton’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/alain-...red-bull-block


The 'huge' Ferrari improvement that has seen Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes sidelined
Carlos Sainz has beaten Hamilton in every race so far this season.
19:52 Mon, 15 Apr 2024.
BY MATTHEW COOPER SPORTS WRITER
MARK PIRIE DAILY RECORD SPORTS WRITER
Daily Record

Carlos Sainz has revealed that the secret to Ferrari's strategic improvement this year is simply because they now "have a car that is better on tyres".

Sainz made these comments after securing third place at the Japanese Grand Prix, trailing behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, while his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc came in fourth.

Lewis Hamilton, who is set to replace Sainz at Ferrari next season, finished ninth. This result means that Sainz has outperformed Hamilton in every race so far this season. Ferrari's strategy in Suzuka was widely commended, with both drivers making significant gains.

‘Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes sidelined’;

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/...lewis-32593415


Fred Vasseur explains how Lewis Hamilton’s arrival will help Charles Leclerc
Tue 16 April 2024 08:30
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

The struggling Charles Leclerc will benefit from the arrival of Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari in 2025, according to team principal Fred Vasseur. The Scuderia announced in the winter that Hamilton would join next year.

Leclerc has found himself somewhat in the shadow of outgoing teammate Carlos Sainz this season. Even though Sainz missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix through illness, he’s within four points of the Monegasque in the standings.

Speaking to Radio France, Vasseur explained how racing alongside Hamilton could help him. Sainz has been responsible for Ferrari’s last three victories, with Leclerc’s victory drought stretching back to the 2022 Austrian GP.

‘Struggling Charles Leclerc’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/fre...arles-leclerc/


Charles Leclerc ‘suffering’ with Carlos Sainz’s performances, ex-F1 driver claims
14 Apr 2024 1:00 PM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com

Vitantonio Liuzzi has said Charles Leclerc is “suffering” because of how Carlos Sainz has flown out of the traps in the 2024 season. Of the two current Ferrari drivers, it is Sainz who has received more plaudits so far this year after his victory in Australia and excellent drives in Bahrain and Suzuka.

With that, former Red Bull and Toro Rosso driver Liuzzi believes that is having a negative effect on Leclerc, who is facing an “important battle” in 2025 when Hamilton arrives at Maranello. “Ferrari has shown that it has made progress. It is not ready for the title, but it will have its say in many races,” Liuzzi said, as per Italian publication Corriere dello Sport.

“Charles Leclerc suffering’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/charle...z-performances


Lewis Hamilton discusses the challenge of transitioning to Ferrari
Hamilton will spend the entire 2024 season knowing that it is his last at Mercedes before joining Ferrari
14 April 2024
By John Smith
Total Motorsport

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he’s not sure how to navigate the transition from Mercedes to Ferrari as it is not a situation he has been in before. Hamilton was quizzed about the timing of initiating conversations with Ferrari about the transition period ahead of joining the team.

“I mean at some stage I will have to, I think I’ll start the conversation with Toto [Wolff]. Because I don’t know how to navigate it, I’ve never been in this position before at this point in the year,” Hamilton told the press in Japan.

He stressed that his energy is being put into improving the current car and situation at Mercedes, rather than the future with Ferrari. “I’m not quite sure yet how I’m going to navigate it but right now I want to finish on a high here so all of my energy is going into this,” Hamilton said.

‘Challenge of transitioning’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...cedes-ferrari/


Sainz shocker: Newspapers eye 1 or 2 year Mercedes deal
April 15, 2024
Andrew Maitland
Grandpx.news

Insider sources have informed several top Italian media outlets that Carlos Sainz is expected to join Mercedes in the 2025 racing season. This comes after persistent speculations have nearly solidified into confirmed reports, according to Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere della Sera, and La Repubblica.

However, the efficacy of this strategic move for Sainz, who is currently performing well at Ferrari who are replacing him with Lewis Hamilton, remains under debate. “Mercedes is a long way off the pace,” former Red Bull racer Robert Doornbos commented on Ziggo Sport. “Even (Fernando) Alonso indicated that he didn’t want to sign there.”

Despite these concerns, La Gazzetta dello Sport seems certain that the Sainz-to-Mercedes transfer is imminent, with Sauber, under Audi’s new ownership, being the only notable alternative that was considered but subsequently passed over.

‘Sainz shocker’;

https://grandpx.news/sainz-shocker-n...mercedes-deal/