Lewis Hamilton is in his final season with Mercedes before making the move to Ferrari and will have to react to a number of adjustments to find success with the Italian racing team
Lewis Hamilton will not easily see a turnaround in results when moving to Ferrari next season and will be presented with a massive challenge, warns Bernie Collins.
Former Force India and Aston Martin strategy engineer Collins believes adjusting to his new environment could cause some issues despite the presence of Fred Vasseur. The Ferrari team principal worked with Hamilton in F3 and GP2 before making his move into Formula 1 with McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton has endured a difficult start to the 2024 season following the announcement in February that he would switch constructors at the end of his current deal with Mercedes. The seven-times world champion’s final year has not got off to the best start as he sits 10th in the championship after three races and has been out-qualified by teammate George Russell ahead of each race so far.
Collins believes that the 39-year-old veteran has appeared distant from the team he joined in 2013. With the car not currently in a position to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari, Hamilton could find himself in a place where Mercedes are not as accommodating as they once were.
However, despite Ferrari’s better start to the season, Collins believes that a reunion with Vasseur will not provide a simple solution to Hamilton’s issues. The Sky Sports pundit suggested the F1 legend is set to face a massive challenge to deal with unfamiliar engine modes and different teammates.
Speaking on The Fast and the Curious Podcast, Collins said: “I think he’s disappointed that the car’s still not where it needs to be even though they have made big changes. Because he’d pushed quite hard for changes in previous years and they were slow to come, he feels a bit distant from the team.
“Mercedes have always supported him entirely, jumped through the hoops to make what Lewis wanted happen. And now that’s going to change.
“I think the Ferrari step for him is going to be a massive challenge. He’s never driven a Ferrari-powered car. All the engine modes are different, the team ethos is different. Yes, Fred’s there, but it’s going to be such a different environment.”
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has admitted it is a frustrating period for Hamilton. The Austrian has no worries over the departing star’s abilities however.
He said: “I think the drivers are super in this whole set-up, because Lewis is as good as you can be.
“He’s in a situation obviously where, on one side it’s super frustrating to see that we are not getting it, on the other side, look over the fence and it’s pretty good what’s happening there. But that is not his main priority today and George is just a fighter and is digging in and he knows that’s his place, so we’ve got to sort this out.”
