There's no downside to Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari move, claims former F1 paddock member

Former race engineer, Rob Smedley, discussed the benefits of Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari in the upcoming season on a recent podcast appearance. Smedley, who has been part of the engineering team at Ferrari, has said that both teams, including Hamilton's former team Mercedes and the scarlet team, along with the sport as a whole will be better off by the Brit's decision.

Speaking on the podcast The Red Flags Pod earlier today, the former engineer said that he is a fan of Lewis Hamilton. He added that while the change will take some time to acclimatize to, especially given the successful relationship he has had with Mercedes, it would seem like Hamilton has always belonged with Ferrari after the first few months. He continued to say:

"But I think it's just, it's really good for the sport. I think it's, it's great, there's no negatives. There's no downside to this move, right? Lewis is making a move. If Lewis can win his eighth world championship as a Ferrari driver, it's a fairy tale."

He also went on to explain the benefit Ferrari will come away with once the seven-time world drivers' champion joins them, highlighting that he may have been the missing piece they required:

"Lewis will help Ferrari. You know, it will just drive the team on to that next level, that next few percent that it needs to become a consistently winning team."

Lastly, Smedley also explained that Lewis Hamilton's vacancy at the Brackley-based team has allowed for the 2024 F2 season's 6th place finisher Kimi Antonelli to join the grid this season:

"Lewis leaving has opened up the door for another really strong talent to come into the sport. And I'm really happy about that. I think Antonelli... he's a real strong young charger. So I don't really see any downsides. There's only upsides here."

Lewis Hamilton will begin his journey with Ferrari next week at a Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) session at the Fiorano Circuit in Italy. He will be seen driving the 2025 car at the pre-season testing session in Bahrain at the end of February.

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Lewis Hamilton mania sweeping Italy ahead of testing session

With Lewis Hamilton's first testing session with Ferrari quickly approaching, Italian fans are excited for the British driver's arrival at the Fiorano Circuit. Speaking on the F1 podcast earlier this week, journalist Roberto Chinchero described the general mood of the country, saying (via PlanetF1):

“A kind of Hamilton mania has already started in Italy.”

Chinchero has also outlined that he expects crowds to gather to see Hamilton's first time in a Ferrari, saying:

"I cannot imagine the number of people that will be around the track. I’m expecting the Maranello and Fiorano streets will be filled with people."

The British driver will reportedly be driving Ferrari's 2022 car, the SF-75 at the track in Italy next week.

Lewis Hamilton finished his final season with Mercedes 7th in the drivers' standings, after scoring two wins and five podium finishes this past year.