Ferrari

LEWIS HAMILTON’S surprise transfer to Ferrari has “triggered something” that could see a Formula One world champion return to the grid, according to Ralf Schumacher.Hamilton, 39, activated a break clause in his Mercedes contract which will see him leave the team at the end of this season before joining the Scuderia in 2025.
Sebastian Vettel has been tipped for a return to F1Credit: AFP
It is claimed Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari ‘triggered something’Credit: Getty
And the move is now said to have piqued the interest for a return to the sport for four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Speaking to Sky Sports, six-time race winner Schumacher named 36-year-old Vettel as one possible candidate to replace Hamilton at the Silver Arrows.
Schumacher said: “I’ve heard that Sebastian Vettel wants to drive again. Of course, a gap has to be closed now.
“You saw what was going on on the stock market after Lewis Hamilton’smove to Ferrari, that triggered something.”
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Vettel retired from the sport at the end of 2022 after 299 race starts for Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Hamilton’s departure leaves George Russell not knowing who his team-mate will be next season.
And while Schumacher does not doubt the talent of Vettel, who questions whether he would be able to make such a big leap back into the sport after three years absent.
“Whether George Russell has the charisma to replace Lewis Hamilton worldwide in terms of marketing or Sebastian Vettel as a German driver at Mercedes, that’s probably a size too big for him.”
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SunSport named five possible candidates who could replace the seven-time world champion, from 17-year-old Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli to Mick Schumacher or Alex Albon.
Fernando Alonso, who replaced Vettel at Aston Martin, has also been linked with a shock switch.
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Alonso had two seasons out of the sport before returning in 2021 and has remained one of the best on the grid, meaning it is in the realm of possibility for Vettel to replicate the Spaniard.
However, Schumacher is concerned Mercedes will not be as competitive as they hope to be in 2025.
He added: “I’m a bit disappointed with Mercedes, I have the feeling that things will continue as they did last year.
“That could also be a reason why Lewis Hamilton lost faith in it and followed the call of Fred Vasseur.”

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LEWIS HAMILTON says moving to Ferrari is a boyhood dream after playing as Michael Schumacher on his computer as a kid.Hamilton, 39, activated a break-clause in his Mercedes deal and will quit at the end of this year to join the Italian team.
The 2024 season will be Lewis Hamilton’s last with MercedesCredit: EPA
Hamilton wanted the move to Ferrari to emulate Michael SchumacherCredit: Alamy
The move stunned F1 as he had only agreed a contract extension with the Silver Arrows last summer.
Now, as he prepares for his final season with Mercedes, he says he has always been driven by the lure of one day driving for F1’s most famous team, who have not won the title since 2007.
He said: “I think for every driver, growing up, watching the history, watching Michael Schumacher in his prime, probably all of us sit in our garage and see the screen pop up, and you see the driver in the red cockpit.
“You wonder what it might be like to be surrounded by the red.
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“You go to the Italian Grand Prix, and you see the sea of red Ferrari fans, and you can only stand in awe of that.
“It’s a team that’s not had huge success really since, mostly obviously from Michael’s days, but obviously since 2007, and I saw it as a huge challenge.
“Without a doubt, even as a kid, I used to play on Grand Prix 2 as Michael in that car. So it definitely is a dream, and I’m really, really excited about it.”
Hamilton will link up with his old GP2 boss Fred Vasseur at Ferrari and admits he had a big hand in convincing him to jump ship.
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He added: “I’ve got a great relationship with Fred. Obviously I raced with him. We had amazing success in F3, and also in GP2.
“That’s really where the foundation of our relationship started. We always remained in touch.
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“I thought that he was going to be an amazing team manager at some stage and progress to F1, but at the time, he wasn’t interested in that.
“It was really cool to see him step into the Alfa [Romeo] team. Then when he got the job at Ferrari, I was just so happy for him.
“I think just the stars aligned, I think it really wouldn’t have happened without him.
“So I’m really grateful and really excited about the work that he’s doing there.”
The 2024 F1 season begins on March 2.

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LEWIS HAMILTON did not get off to the best start for the 2024 Formula One season after his car ran over a loose drain.Hamilton, 39, announced this season would be his last with Mercedes after an 11-year spell with the team before he makes a sensational switch to Ferrari in 2025.
Lewis Hamilton got behind the wheel of his Mercedes F1 car for the first time this seasonCredit: Alamy
But Hamilton’s car appeared to sustain damage when it ran over a loose drain coverCredit: Sky Sports
The loose drain saw stewards wave off the morning sessionCredit: Rex
The seven-time world champion said he was committed to “delivering the best performance” he can to the team.
And the first on-track step towards that end came in Bahrain as F1 kickstarted it’s pre-season testing.
Hamilton was on track for the first time after skipping out on Wednesday’s testing sessions.
However, after only a few hours of testing the session was forced to come to a stop when the stewards noticed damage to a kerb on the circuit.
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This damage came as Hamilton’s future Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc dislodged a drain cover on the entry of turn 11.
Hamilton was the next racer to come along and ran over the drain cover, which saw it fly into the air.
Mercedes mechanics checked the underside of Hamilton’s W15 for damage following the collision.
Stewards promptly halted the morning session to assess the damage to the circuit before announcing it would not resume around 30 minutes later.
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The morning session saw Hamilton put up a best lap time of 1:33.225 with 39 laps completed.
The afternoon session will run until 4pm.
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Following the Wednesday test topped by Max Verstappen, Mercedes driver George Russell revealed the Mercedes car felt “nicer to drive” compared to last season.
He said: “It was great to drive the W15 for the first time in anger today. From hitting the ground, it felt like we had a good foundation to start from.
“We completed lots of laps and have plenty of data to go through tonight. We ended the day in a reasonably good spot, and we can build from here over the next two days.
“We will be focused on maximising mileage for learning rather than chasing an optimum sweet spot with the car…
“We know that it’s not about the feeling, but the speed. Nevertheless, today was about learning and not about chasing performance.
“We’re focused on ourselves at this test, and it will only be next week where we see where we stack up against the others.
“It was a positive first day and I’m looking forward to being back in the car on Friday.”
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Comparing directly to their 2023 machinery, Russell added: “Overall, the W15 does feel nicer to drive than last year’s car.”
The F1 season will get underway fully with the first race in Bahrain on March 2.

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TOTO WOLFF is confident Lewis Hamilton’s defection to Ferrari will not harm their chances this season.The Mercedes boss was stunned to discover his driver was quitting his team to join the Italian outfit for next season.
Wolff admits Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari came as a shock – but he is fully focused on giving Hamilton a successful car ahead of the new seasonCredit: AP
Hamilton, 39, dropped the bombshell to Wolff over breakfast at the Austrian’s home in Oxford.
But now, having had time to contemplate the seven-time world champion’s departure, Wolff says it will not derail his team’s performances this season.
He said: “When the news broke, clearly it was a new situation. It’s something that we didn’t anticipate happening at that stage of the season and is a new dynamic and that’s clearly something we would have to work on.
“But having said that, we’ve been together, spent some time in the factory and been at various events and it’s absolutely fine on a human level.
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“In professional terms, we have a full season to go. We want to have the best competitive car and give both drivers the opportunity to get the best possible results.
“How great would it be to finish on a high with Lewis this year. We’ve had several wonderful times and 10 more months to go and we will give it our all.”
Speaking at pre-season testing in Bahrain ahead of the season-opener, Wolff reiterated that Mercedes are determined to take the fight to Red Bull having lost their constructors’ title to them last season.
He added: “The morale in the team and the dynamics we have this year over the winter has been great.
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“We spent a lot of time trying to look introspectively to see what we can do better.
“What we’ve seen is an organisation that is really buzzing and is keen to fight and develop a car that is quicker while sticking to our mindset and our values.
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“That is something we want to deliver this year. It is just a concentration of the moment and the next race is to come.” More

RED BULL chief Helmut Marko couldn’t resist a savage dig at Toto Wolff after Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes exit.Hamilton shocked the Formula 1 world earlier this month when he announced he would be joining Ferrari for the 2025/26 season after triggering a ‘secret’ contract clause.
Helmut Marco took a dig at Toto Wolff’s statementCredit: AFP
Mercedes boss Wolff admitted he felt like he had been “punched in the nose” after the seven-time world champion dropped the bombshell over a breakfast meeting.
Especially given that Wolff had always asserted that an extension with Hamilton would be a “formality”.
And Austrian Marko couldn’t resist rubbing his rival’s nose in it.
An interviewer for Austrian outlet OE24 pointed out that “Wolff said not long ago that he was so close to Hamilton that no piece of paper would fit between the two.”

And Marko’s response was savage.
He joked: “But a Ferrari contract would!”
And Marko admitted he can’t wait to see what drama may unfold in the Mercedes garage this season – with Hamilton still signed up to drive for one more year.
He added: “The whole thing is excellent for sports, better than Netflix.”
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“Normally, in a situation like this, your mind is already more focused on the new team.
“The current team cannot let him take part in any serious innovations because he would of course take them with him.”
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On the future impact of the move, he added:
He added: “I see it as weakening Mercedes.
“Whether it strengthens Ferrari remains to be seen.
“Overall, this has an incredible impact, right down to the stock market prices.
“It’s great that something is happening.” More

MAX VERSTAPPEN has predicted Mercedes will ban Lewis Hamilton from “certain meetings” in the upcoming season.Hamilton has announced he will be leaving the Silver Arrows to join Ferrari in 2025.
Max Verstappen has said Lewis Hamilton will be left out of ‘certain meetings’ with MercedesCredit: Getty
Hamilton has announced he will leave the Silver Arrows to join Ferarri in 2025Credit: Rex
While the announcement came as a shock to the Formula One world both Hamilton and Toto Wolff insist it is business as usual this year.
The pair are focused on helping the team close the gap to Red Bull with both Hamilton and George Russell leading the fight.
But according to Verstappen things may be a little bit “awkward” at the German garage now that everyone knows Hamilton is off he will be left out at certain things.
He said: “For the rest of the year, I would say it’s a little bit awkward.
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“It’s not like they are suddenly enemies. He has achieved so many great things with them.
“They are still behind him, and for sure he has a great relationship with everyone, especially Toto.
“But he knows at one point, and Toto for sure will tell him: ‘Look, I know we’ve had all this success, but you can’t be part of certain meetings any more’.
“That is normal in F1. It’s probably a bit weird.
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“But you are professional enough to deal with that. And once he’s sitting in the car, they will of course go flat out for him.”
Usually, a driver does not announce a deal 12 months before their actual switch as teams want to keep talks out of the public eye.
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The time when more details are revealed about moves is during the F1 “silly season” in the summer break.
But Verstappen believed the only reason the British driver announced the deal so early was to stop the news from being “leaked”.
He continued: “It must have been leaked to announce something that big that early in the season.
“Him going to Ferrari is not really shocking. It’s not a surprise they were talking.
“I just think the announcement was a bit rushed.” More

FERRARI driver Charles Leclerc has shown off his musical talent playing piano by releasing four new tracks.The Formula One star is set to become teammates with Lewis Hamilton in 2025 – who recently announced he was leaving Mercedes.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has released an album showing his talent for playing pianoCredit: Reuters
Leclerc has produced four new tracks with French pianist Sofiane PamartCredit: Instagram @charles_leclerc
Leclerc is set to become teammates with Lewis Hamilton in 2025Credit: AP
Leclerc has shared his artistic work over the winter break with long-term pal French pianist Sofiane Pamart.
The 26-year-old has taken his love of music and released an Extended Play consisting of four songs onto Spotify with Pamart.
The pair have called the EP ‘Dreamers’ featuring tracks called, ‘Focus’, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Limitless’ and ‘The Dream Continues’.
In a post on his Instgram story, Leclerc announced the exciting news giving fans just a 12-hour warning to prepare for the Monegasque sweet, mellow tunes.
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Leclerc said: “I have enjoyed every second of this moment.
“During the off-season I got in a studio for two days together with Sofiane and we worked on four songs that will be released tonight at midnight.
“I’m soooo proud of the result. We’ll also be releasing vinyls that you can pre-order on the link below, for a limited time only.
“We’ll also release the piano scores of the songs. I hope you will love all of it.”
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In the past, the F1 ace has shared his piano-playing talent through popular tracks including ‘MON23’, ‘MIA23’ AND ‘AUS23’.
But the special feature is sure to envy his soon-to-be team-mate Lewis Hamilton who has also expressed his love for music.
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The seven-time world champion has even contemplated following his passion after he retires from the tracks after featuring in Christina Aguilera’s music video in 2018.
The Mercedes driver is set to leave the Silver Arrows at the end of the upcoming season to join Ferrari due to the expiration of his contract.
Leclerc shared he worked on the new music over the winter breakCredit: Instagram @charles_leclerc More