MotoGP | Hamilton talks with Gresini team, but he’s not the only one!

Lewis Hamilton’s passion for two wheels has long been known. In December 2019, fresh from winning his sixth world title, he enthusiastically accepted the offer from his joint sponsor with Yamaha MotoGP to test on the Valencia circuit. Lewis tested Valentino Rossi’s M1, who in turn had the opportunity to ride his W08. Yamaha team manager Massimo Meregalli had a hard time keeping Lewis in the pits, eager to get on the track despite the very low temperatures.

Five years on, Hamilton’s interest in MotoGP could go further, with a full-scale commitment that would see him personally involved. Not in a helmet and suit, obviously, but in the role of team owner, an operation that Lewis has been evaluating in recent weeks.

Hamilton’s staff is currently in a reconnaissance phase, but when Lewis decides to take to the field himself, his intentions are always serious. It has already happened in the past in Extreme E, with the X44 team, and also with the acquisition of a share of the Denver Broncos, an American football team.

However, MotoGP does not have any new entries (the only extra is reserved for BMW) so entry into the world championship can only occur by taking over the ownership of an existing team, hence the conditional which is currently a must.

English sources cite the Gresini team as a potential target, but it is not the only team that is receiving attention. Much will also depend on the indications that will arrive from Dorna and (as soon as the OK arrives from the antitrust at the end of the regulatory process) from Liberty Media, which would undoubtedly look favorably on an operation with enormous promotional scope.

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari in 2025 will mean a different commercial set-up and a MotoGP programme could represent an alternative solution to retain some of his personal sponsors in conflict with companies that support the Scuderia.

Compared to the financial commitment required for a presence in Formula 1, the budgets required by the two-wheeled world championship are decidedly more modest, an aspect that could also allow for the coexistence of multiple programs.

The possibility that the operation will materialize is mostly linked to the decisions that will be taken at Dorna, the only ones with an overall vision that can suggest possible negotiations to take over a team. The time available, if the program intends to start in 2025, is running out, if instead the operation foresees the debut in the 2026 world championship there will be more time to evaluate all the possible options. For Hamilton it would be another piece in the mosaic that he is composing in view of his retirement from racing…