‘Mega Ferrari offer’ might be “the only thing that would keep Hamilton going”
That is the claim of respected F1 commentator and former Ferrari and Williams team manager Peter Windsor.
Hamilton’s current Mercedes contract expires at the end of the season and with an extension yet to be agreed, speculation over his F1 future has been rife.
Ferrari have reportedly offered the seven-time world champion a £40m contract to lure him away from Mercedes and continue his pursuit of a record eighth world title with F1’s most famous team.
According to Windsor, that may prove a tempting offer if Mercedes’ much-needed upgrades fail to produce the desired improvements when they finally debut at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
“The last time [Alonso] was scratching around for an F1 drive he immediately decided to do Le Mans, the Indy 500 and all the other stuff and now he’s back in Formula 1 again,” Windsor said on his YouTube channel.
“Kimi [Raikkonen], likewise, it took him a while to try and stop, didn’t it? Rallying, NASCAR still, all that stuff. Jenson Button’s still dabbling in it.
“It varies. Quite often drivers overstay their time and they end up in uncompetitive cars, still in Formula 1 but not winning grands prix regularly. That wears you down and then you eventually decide to just go out the side door.
“Other times, like Jody Scheckter [and] Nico Rosberg, you win a Championship and you think: ‘Right, been there, dome that, I’m out of here.’
“And then, other times, drivers like Lewis Hamilton defy all the odds and despite unbelievable success and all the things that come with that continue to sustain their sheer, raw love of driving and of competition and motivation and keep racing.
“I’ve speculated many times how long Lewis can continue to do that if he’s not in a competitive car.
“I think we’re almost getting to the point now that if this next Mercedes upgrade – revision, whatever you want to call it – doesn’t produce, I’d be very surprised if Lewis is able to have the motivation to continue.
“The only thing that would keep Lewis going would be some sort of mega Ferrari offer, I would imagine.”
Sky Sports F1 presenter Simon Lazenby has also questioned whether Hamilton’s future could hinge on the success of Mercedes’ revised W14.
