F1 pundit Karun Chandhok feels that Lewis Hamilton's rumored move to Ferrari was never 'gonna happen.
During the 2023 season, there were strong reports that the seven-time world champion would leave Mercedes after 10 years and join the Italian giants to partner with Charles Leclerc. These reports gained further attraction when it was alleged that Ferrari would pay him in the vicinity of €40 million per season.
While appearing on the Sky Sports podcast to review the season, Karun Chandhok claimed that no one took these reports seriously as Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari was never really a serious thought.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone took them seriously really, it was never gonna happen," he said. "I think it was a solid year with some great drives like Mexico and some very strong performances there, Spain as well. I think they were some very strong vintage Lewis Hamilton performances where he just delivered the maximum potential."
Lewis Hamilton analyzes his 2023 season with Mercedes
The Mercedes driver stated that there were many ups and downs throughout the 2023 season but he was proud of how resilient the former world champions were while facing adversity.
Speaking with RacingNews365, Lewis Hamilton said:
“There are ups and downs within all seasons. From the moment we started driving the car at Silverstone and realizing that we're probably not [going to] be fighting for a championship to then just refocusing and resetting your goals and then working towards catching up. I think it's just really pleasing to see that we never gave up, no one in the team gave up."
Hamilton continued:
"Everyone stayed positive, just how everyone showed up was super encouraging for me. We were always learning more about just appreciating the moment, and appreciating every single individual in the team. Those results we're getting, when we finally got a podium, we appreciated it perhaps more than ever before.”
It would certainly have been a boost for the German team to finish runners-up behind Red Bull in 2023 despite not winning one race throughout the year. It will be interesting to see if Lewis Hamilton and George Russell can guide Mercedes back to championship contention in the 2024 season if they are provided with a competitive car.