Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he will ‘never know exactly why’ he has never raced for Ferrari as the Mercedes star conceded that it is ‘everyone’s dream’ to represent the famous Formula One team. Hamilton, 36, has spent his 14-year
F1 career with two teams – McLaren and Mercedes – but came close to switching from the Silver Arrows to Ferrari in 2019 after holding talks with chairman John Elkan. However, a move has never come to fruition and Hamilton’s immediate future is with Mercedes, having recently signed a new two-year deal with the team.
Yet the British star opened up on his confusion as to how a switch never materialised, before revealing that he has considered quitting the sport altogether. ‘For many years, when I came to Monza, walking next to the fans… I could hear them saying “Come to Ferrari!”‘ he told Sky Sport Italia. ‘This warmed my heart, but it’s pretty amazing that I’ve never driven for Ferrari in so many years. Because it is a dream for anyone, a goal to be achieved.
‘It has never really been possible and I will never quite know exactly why. I wish them the best and in my near future I will continue to prevent them from winning the world championship. ‘I’ve seen photos of their drivers and red is always red. I have a couple of Ferraris at home. I can drive those, but not the Ferrari F1.’Hamilton added that thoughts of leaving F1 come in ‘waves’, but that he is determined to extract everything from his career before he retires.
‘That thought often happens to me. It’s like a wave,’ he revealed. ‘It comes and goes, there have been many occasions in the last four or five years when I didn’t know if I still wanted to try, sacrifice myself with training at the expense of personal life. ‘There are other things I like to do. So many things I would like to try. But on the other hand I tell myself that I am so lucky to be doing this job. ‘In a rather long period of time, the career in the car becomes only a small part, there is a lot of time to retire. It is a question of finding the balance.
‘I tell myself that if I am still hungry and I train like I was a boy, which I am doing, and if I still get great results… [but] if I find myself slower, lacking strength to train, and unmotivated, then I’ll know it’s time to stop.’ Hamilton clinched his 100th F1 victory on Sunday in Sochi after triumphing at the Russian Grand Prix. That win sees him restore his slim world championship lead of just two points over Max Verstappen with seven races remaining.
