FERRARI bosses say they are “flattered” by Lewis Hamilton’s interest in joining the team in 2021.
At a select meeting at their Maranello HQ on Wednesday, SunSPORT was invited to join Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri and F1 team principal, Mattia Binotto, for some open and honest discussions on last season and the future for the Italian team.
One of the discussions centred on the fact that Hamilton had met Ferrari chairman John Elkann, leading to speculation about a switch to Ferrari in 2021 when his Mercedes deal expires as a replacement for Sebastian Vettel.
Merc chief Toto Wolff says there is a 25 percent chance the six-time world champion will jump ship for Ferrari, however, they are staying tight-lipped about their discussions with the Brit.
Binotto said: “Should we first address the question that was left lingering?
“The fact is we have a long-term agreement with one driver [Charles Leclerc] and with the other driver [Vettel] the agreement expires at the end of 2020.
“We clearly are very flattered that Lewis in particular, and other drivers want to come and join us, but it would be premature to decide anything today.
“It would be premature to decide anything now for the future.”
Ferrari finished the season in second place in the constructors’ championship while Leclerc and Vettel were fourth and fifth place in the drivers’ championship.
However, the two had a turbulent second half to the season, coming to blows in Brazil when they crashed into each other during the race.
We clearly are very flattered that Lewis in particular, and other drivers want to come and join us, but it would be premature to decide anything today.
Binotto hauled the two into a crunch meeting while Camilleri said that he felt Leclerc’s impressive performances in his first season for Ferrari, caused Vettel to crack under the pressure.
Camilleri said: “Talking about our drivers on the perceived challenges, tensions between them and also some criticism about our inability to manage them.
“Clearly, Charles’s performance had obviously had an impact. It’s inevitable that when you’re the world champion, this young kid comes on and has a phenomenal season.
“You should know that behind closed doors they actually get on very well. There’s great respect between them.
“They’re both very competitive and Brazil was a nightmare. However, now the air has been cleared.
“I think you sometimes need a crisis to put the goalposts in the appropriate place. They both realised that Ferrari suffer in this collision that they created.
“Charles has a lot of talent. He has surprised even ourselves as to what he was capable of doing.
“The most encouraging thing is as the season unfolded, he became stronger not only as a driver, but as an integral part of the team.”
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Binotto says they now hold meetings between the two to ensure both drivers who how to react to certain scenarios to prevent them from clashing.
He added: “Seb is a key driver for us, he is central to our project. He’s part of the team now since many years. He knows very well the team.
“The challenge for him has been a good benchmark as well, because having such a fast teammate gave him some headache.
“Even in the first part of the season he has been put under a lot of pressure. I think he reacted very well in the second half.
“Certainly the victory in Singapore has been key for him, not only for the victory itself, but the trust in the team, as he knew that he could count on the team for help, if necessary.
“I would say, well done to him for the second part of the season, well done for the way he reacted after a not easy first half of the season.
“About Charles, I think his season has been outstanding for what he achieved in the very first year in Ferrari.
“Managing the drivers is certainly not an easy exercise but we are still very convinced that trying to manage them is the best way in order to score team points.
“But I believe that we can be stronger next year. We now have meetings with the drivers before the race to discuss scenarios, what may happen, what can be the team’s strategy.
“That that type of meeting that at the very start of the season was full of embarrassments and difficult to manage. But we are now getting used to it.”
Meanwhile, with growing feeling that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff could take a role running Formula One for owners, Liberty Media, Ferrari says they will use their veto to block the Austrian from replacing Chase Carey and run F1.
Camilleri added: “The veto is the last resort tool. Should we be confronted with that I think we would explain our position quite clearly to the folks at Liberty.
“My feeling is anybody who’s really been an active and important player in a certain team within the last years, to take on the responsibility at F1 would automatically create conflicts of interest, perceived or otherwise.
“So I personally think it would not be a good thing as to who should ultimately run F1.
“I think Chase has done a pretty good job. He’s come out from a world that’s really entertainment. He had no background in Formula One.
“I think you need a CEO because it’s a public company. You need a CEO who has experience in essentially the entertainment business.
“But our position is that if Mattia was the candidate to replace Chase I think the rest of the paddock would not be too happy with it. It’s just logical.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
