Bonus post: Lewis Hamilton's decision
It's all anyone can gossip about at the moment. Will Lewis Hamilton make a shock switch to Ferrari in 2024?
If the rumours are true and Ferrari really does have a seat open for Lewis Hamilton in 2024, then the seven-time champion has a career-defining decision to make.
In case you missed it, The Daily Mail claimed this week that Ferrari have made a huge £40 million offer to Lewis Hamilton for 2024. Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport has since reported that the claim apparently has “a foundation of truth".
Still, I feel duty-bound to declare here that I feel a bit uncomfortable about these sources. I’m hesitant to believe them, but let’s for the moment assume there is a genuine offer on the table.
It’s impossible to understate how significant Hamilton switching to Ferrari would be.
Hamilton has been with Mercedes for a decade, winning six of his seven world championships in that time.
But Mercedes have dropped the ball since F1 introduced new cars in 2022, limiting Hamilton’s potential. 2022 was his first-ever season in F1 where he didn’t win a race.
Then again, Ferrari isn’t championship-winning material at the moment either.
So, if Hamilton has to choose Mercedes or Ferrari for 2024, then he is basically guessing which one will return to championship-winning ways first.
It’s an unenviable decision.
Hamilton will surely feel a sense of loyalty to Mercedes given how long he’s been there, but Ferrari has by and large built a better car since F1’s regulations changed last year.
Ferrari won four races in 2022 while Mercedes only got one victory.
Then again, both teams are now looking likely to change design concepts in hopes of catching Red Bull - making current car performance moot - and you could argue Mercedes is the more stable team.
Toto Wolff is the longstanding boss of Mercedes and technical guru James Allison has just returned to the technical director role.
Ferrari, on the other hand, has much more internal friction.
They garnered a reputation last year for poor strategies and team boss Mattia Binotto was eventually ousted.
This year, Ferrari has faced the departure of some senior staff - and that’s come amid suggestions of dysfunction inside the team, though new Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has pushed back on these claims.
Despite all that, one advantage Ferrari may have in trying to secure Hamilton is their unrivalled allure as the most historic team in F1.
Ferrari is the team that all the greats want to drive for.
In 2021, Hamilton was asked by Sky Sports Italy about driving for Ferrari and he said: "For everyone that's a dream position to be in. It was just never really fully on the cards for me.”
Perhaps it is now.
But, some Italian media outlets believe the supposed offer to Hamilton isn’t genuine and could instead be a Ferrari tactic to negotiate better terms with Charles Leclerc.
According to RacingNews365.com, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also rubbished the Ferrari offer and told OE24 that he was discussing a new 2024 contract with Hamilton normally.
Speaking about whether Hamilton would re-sign with Mercedes, Wolff said: “There's not a millimetre of doubt for me.”
Additionally, we mustn’t forget that only back in March RaceFans quoted Hamilton publicly saying: “Whether or not we have a difficult year this year, I’ll still be here. I’m a fighter and we fight as a team.”
It is not known if Hamilton stands by that nearly three-month-old comment.
But, we should hear from him shortly as part of the build-up to this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The allure of Ferrari cannot be overstated in my mind... but I have to wonder if this is more of a marketing tactic than anything. If Ferrari appear to be courting Hamilton, it puts pressure on Mercedes to give him a more favorable contract, which he's definitely going to take advantage of. The same goes for Ferrari in reverse: if Hamilton is looks like he's thinking about joining, it could be a way for Ferrari to get better contracts from Leclerc and Sainz. I think this might just be a clever play from the both of them!