Hamilton strategy to acclimatise at Ferrari revealed

Eddie Jordan has revealed how Lewis Hamilton plans to bed in at Ferrari when he completes his bombshell move to the Scuderia in 2025.

The seven-time world champion announced his move to Ferrari for 2025 to a shocked F1 world. It is likely Hamilton will see out his remaining years in F1 driving the famous red overalls.

The reason behind the move is subject to much speculation. The most touted reason is Mercedes’ lack of progress in rectifying its car issues, which have dogged it since the introduction of ground-effect cars in 2022.

Mercedes has fallen further behind Red Bull and Ferrari in 2024, with customer team McLaren now ahead of Mercedes in the championship. P6 remains Hamilton’s highest-placed finish, with teammate George Russell out-qualifying him by 7-1 so far this season.

Jordan reveals rationale behind move

Former team owner Eddie Jordan has revealed his argument of what is behind the move and Hamilton’s strategy to integrate at Ferrari. As reported by Planet F1, speaking on the Formula For Success podcast, Jordan said the lure of Ferrari was hard to resist for Hamilton:

“I truthfully don’t believe it’s to do with contracts or money. I think he feels that he would like to see his career finish at Ferrari because it’s a magic place to go.”

Jordan then said how Hamilton plans to acclimatise at Ferrari, including moving to Italy and learning fluent Italian:

“And he intends to go to live in Italy, which I can understand. He intends to learn the language fluently, and I think they’re all very important [aspects] because if you don’t do that, you will not be ingratiated within the Ferrari confines.”

Jordan then said he believed Hamilton could win a world championship with Ferrari. The Scuderia’s title drought extends back to 2008. The former team owner highlighted McLaren’s recent form that catching Red Bull is possible:

“Can he win a World Championship in the future? I think they are very strong. We are all very impressed with Fred Vasseur because I think Fred has brought a magic calm to that team.

“If you can see it, it’s a bit like what McLaren is doing – and that is they’re slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly catching the monkey, and the monkey being Red Bull.

“So they’re slowly catching up, and that’s great for us because we will actually see better high-quality races and, hopefully, we won’t see Max going into the distance 20 or 30 seconds in the front.”

Potential teammate issues

Also speaking on the podcast, 13-time race winner David Coulthard questioned if Hamilton could ‘coexist’ with Charles Leclerc and if Hamilton’s age will play a factor. The Monegasque has moulded Ferrari around him since he joined in 2019:

“How do you think he’s going to coexist with Charles Leclerc. I’ve said that, personally, Charles at 27, one of the fastest guys, is going to be a big challenge for Lewis.

“You know, he’s going to be 40. I’m not questioning Lewis’ brilliance, but it’s just the natural curve in someone’s career.

“I’ve got to believe that Lewis is at the point where he’s got all of the experience, but I can’t believe he’s getting quicker at that age. And I know that it’s going to upset the Lewis fans, but obviously, I would be delighted to see that he’s defying age, and it’s going to be a close battle between him and Charles.”

Jordan reiterated his belief in Hamilton, believing he will replicate the success of his famed move to Mercedes from McLaren in 2013: “My opinion, I disagree,” he said. “Because I think certainly for next year, ’25, the new rules will not be in place, so he will be effectively driving what is the car that he’s got that is there this year.

“I think at 39 that Lewis, when he gets himself with red overalls, just like when he left McLaren and went to Mercedes, it was just like fireworks.

“I think that Lewis will be a serious contender for the World Championship, and I promise you he will give it an almighty crack next year before ’26. Anything can happen.”

Feature Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz Archive/Sam Bloxham