Millionaire Jeremy Clarkson launches scathing attack on Lewis Hamilton, questions motive behind joining Ferrari

British TV personality Jeremy Clarkson has made a harsh attack on Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari and questioned the purpose of the switch. The seven-time F1 world champion made his eagerly awaited move to the Italian team on January 20 when he made his first public appearance outside the factory in Maranello.

On January 22, Hamilton made his first proper run in a red car when he drove the SF-23 for test runs in the Prancing Horses's private test track in Fiorano. There were thousands of people in attendance outside the track to see the British driver do his first runs with Ferrari leaving several others looking forward to his 2025 season with the team.

However, in his column for The Sun, millionaire Clarkson was less impressed by the media frenzy caused by Hamilton's move to Ferrari and launched a scathing attack on the purpose of the 40-year-old's move to the Italian team, writing:

"He turned up in an SUV in a suit and tie and posed for pictures before talking to fans, under the watchful eye of a video drone which luckily was there to capture the moment. Next, there was a tour of the team’s headquarters where, in slow motion, we saw the fawning engineers and the applause.

“And then, eventually, he went on to the track, in an F1 Ferrari that’s three years old. I’m told his new house isn’t anywhere near the team’s HQ. It’s in Milan, and he doesn’t even commute in a Ferrari road car, choosing instead to use Fiat’s helicopter. It made me wonder. What is Lewis now? A driver? Or a superstar?"

The former Mercedes F1 driver will have his work cut out at Ferrari given several challenges facing his tenure including his new teammate Charles Leclerc.

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British TV icon gives his take on Lewis Hamilton's challenges at Ferrari

British TV icon Jeremy Clarkson stated that Lewis Hamilton would have an uphill task at Ferrari given his teammate Charles Leclerc was very well accustomed to the language and had been with the Italian team since 2019.

As quoted by the above source, the 64-year-old said:

“What I do know is he’ll have his work cut out to beat his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who speaks Italian, knows the team, doesn’t spend quite so long posing for pictures, and, thanks to a single-lap shootout, is regarded by many to be the fastest driver of them all. Maybe Lewis is aware of this. Either way, I wish him well.”

Hamilton will have a race against time to quickly acclimatize himself with Ferrari as he will only have a few days of TPC at Barcelona in SF-23 before moving to do simulator work on the 2025 challenger. After the car launch next month, he will only have a day and a half of the pre-season testing in Bahrain ahead of the first race in March in Australia.