Amidst the recent upheavals in the driver’s market, it’s easy to overlook that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is also making a move. He kicked off the transfer season early by announcing in February that he’s heading to Ferrari. However, Formula 1 veteran Jackie Stewart emphasizes that by the time of the transfer, Hamilton will have crossed the age of forty. “That’s going to play a role,” says the Scot.
“The news somewhat surprised me,” Jackie Stewart recently stated in a podcast. “Especially because he (Hamilton) is turning forty and joining a team that has only recently become competitive again; Ferrari has been on a downward trajectory in recent years. There have been several management structures that have significantly disrupted the team. Fortunately, the situation is now somewhat more stable.”
Stewart emphasizes that Ferrari still has a magical allure; Hamilton is undoubtedly also enchanted by the allure of the Scuderia. “Lewis would have seen that in the factory,” continued the 85-year-old Scot. “There is no other brand in Formula 1 that has such continuity as Ferrari. I almost drove there myself. It was incredibly impressive. The atmosphere is fantastic and the Italians are wonderful people – they are razor-sharp and extremely enthusiastic. I’m sure Hamilton has experienced that too.”
However, Stewart also wants to point out that the Mercedes veteran is not getting any younger. “The fact that he (Hamilton) will have passed forty will play a role,” he explained. “It would have been much easier if he was twenty-five or thirty. But he still has the skills and talent. We saw that during the British GP. Still, I find it remarkable that he’s going to Ferrari. At some point, he has to stop. But apparently, he doesn’t feel that yet, and I can understand that.”
