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The Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari festivities have been brilliant for the sport, as they have given the fans something to look forward to before the season begins. The kind of hype, enthusiasm, and attention that this move has garnered has been mesmerizing.
With that being said, Lewis has not joined the Italian team for his off-track stuff. It's what he does on the track that is the most important part of all of this. As we get ever closer to a debut that everyone would look at with bated breath, what should be the expectation from this partnership?
In this feature, we'll touch on the optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic expectations that one could have from the Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari partnership.
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Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari partnership
Optimistic expectation
Lewis Hamilton wins his 8th title with Ferrari in 2025
If the festive atmosphere around Lewis Hamilton is anything to go by, Ferrari wouldn't mind the British driver making history with the team by winning his 8th world title. If just joining the team resulted in such hype and such a level of anticipation and attention, imagine if Hamilton's stint at Ferrari is a success.
As the championship gets closer to officially kicking things off on track, arguably the optimistic expectation would be that Lewis Hamilton does win his 8th world title with Ferrari and we see the most successful driver and the most successful team join hands to create history.
Is it possible for Lewis to beat his young teammate Charles Leclerc and other drivers and win the title in 2025? It is possible for sure, but it lies more on the optimistic side of the spectrum.
Pessimistic expectation
Charles Leclerc dominates Lewis Hamilton, leading to Brit's early retirement
On possibly the other side of the horizon, is Hamilton being unable to rise to the challenge and achieve what he set out to do. The 40-year-old is going into a team where Charles Leclerc has been a key part of the squad since 2019. He would be driving a car that's built with Leclerc's feedback.
That challenge requires a lot of adaptation, and if Lewis is unable to do it, he gets dominated by Charles Leclerc in a fashion that's worse than what happened with him at Mercedes in 2024. Hamilton has not joined Ferrari to be the Monegasque's sidekick, and looking at the gulf between the two, the seven-time winner might take an early retirement if things don't pan out well.
Realistic expectation
He performs better than he did in 2024 but is second best to Charles Leclerc
Finally, let's get to the realistic expectation that every fan should have from Lewis. A part of the reason behind his struggles in Mercedes in 2024 was the fact that he looked mentally checked out at times, as the car was not to his liking. The Ferrari has appeared to be a tamer beast, and Hamilton would be motivated to prove himself yet again.
He would not have a season where he gets swept away in qualifying like he did against George Russell. He would be far more competitive, and there are weekends when Lewis Hamilton will remind everyone, including Charles Leclerc, why he is one of the greatest ever in F1.
With that being said, overall he's going to lose to Leclerc because that's just how Father Time works. Hamilton's best is in the past now, and Charles Leclerc at his peak would have been a handful for that version as well.
