The 'oddities' of the Hamilton-Ferrari operation
The landing of Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari starting from 2025 it has received almost unanimous approval, but there is no shortage of voices out of the chorus. One of these is that of Giancarlo Minardifounder of the eponymous team now renamed Racing Bulls after yet another name change.
Interviewed by Il Resto del Carlino Minardi wanted to separate the two facets of the Hamilton-Ferrari operation, the commercial one and the sporting one. From a marketing point of view, the partnership between the seven-time world champion and the Scuderia di Maranello is a partnership that cannot fail, on the contrary: “If we talk about marketing, it's a brilliant operation, then congratulations to John Elkann“said Minardi.
The comparison with the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo by Juventus is apt due to the scope of the actors involved, but the 'business risk' of the Hamilton-Ferrari operation is close to zero given that unlike what happens in the Champions League, Ferrari cannot be 'eliminated' from the championship after the first races in case of results that are not up to 'qualifying' for the subsequent stages of the competition. With Hamilton at the wheel, Ferrari made sure to win on a marketing level even if the world titles didn't arrive.
From a sporting point of view, however, according to Minardi the operation is not positive: “If we talk about Formula 1, then the situation changes – he added – Ferrari didn't go without titles for a generation because of who was behind the wheel. It follows that Hamilton is no guarantee of success, just as Vettel was not. In F1 it is essential to have a winning car. A house is not built from the roof, but from the foundations. How will Leclerc take it? They extended his contract saying they were betting everything on him, but a week goes by and they put a legend like Hamilton next to him. Let's say there is more than one oddity in this story. And, in any case, I would have kept Sainz.”
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