No, because Ferrari is no longer what it used to be.
Of course, Mercedes has lost its status as a dominator in recent years – partly due to its own mistakes. But the team has already shown that it is willing to make the necessary changes by reinstalling James Allison as technical director. In this role, he led the team to great success between 2017 and 2021.
And Ferrari? The racing team is historically the most successful team in Formula 1. But that is all a thing of the past. The present: The last drivers’ title was 17 years ago. Since then there has been chaos. The position of team leader is like a revolving door. Bankruptcies, bad luck and breakdowns make life difficult for drivers. The Ferrari myth is long dead.
Hamilton will try to use his vast experience to bring order to the chaos. But that will take years. Time that Hamilton actually no longer has at the age of 40. If it even succeeds.
After all, even multiple world champions like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel failed because of the conditions at the Italians. They couldn’t win another title. Hamilton could be next.
New team boss Fred Vasseur has been able to calm the racing team down somewhat so far, but how long the calm will last is questionable. Especially since the year 2023 was more of a step backwards in terms of sport compared to the previous year.
It is understandable that Hamilton is increasingly annoyed by George Russell at Mercedes. But a similar situation awaits him at Ferrari: With Charles Leclerc, he has a teammate who is just as young and talented and who will definitely not back down. Especially since Leclerc has been driving for Scuderia since 2019, knows the team inside out and has a big knowledge advantage over Hamilton. Staying number one at Mercedes would have been much easier for Hamilton than becoming number one at Ferrari. In the hunt for his eighth world title, it would have been better for Hamilton to stay at Mercedes.