Hamilton Going To Wake Up 'Drenched In Sweat' Next Season Says Coronel

Tuesday, 13 August 2024 at 19:30

Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel discussed Lewis Hamilton's future in Ferrari and evaluated his and the Italian team's chances of winning the title.

At the end of the 2024 season, Lewis Hamilton will say goodbye to the Mercedes team after 12 years of successful collaboration and go on a new adventure- in Ferrari.

The announcement of his decision to change teams was one of the biggest news of this decade, but many quickly started questioning whether the seven-time World Champion still has what it takes to win the title with Ferrari.

Discussing the 39-year-old's current form, Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel told Formule1 magazine that he believes Hamilton still belongs at the top.

“"Lewis Hamilton is and remains a top driver who might just secretly win another world title. And I would wholeheartedly grant him that."”

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“"He recently won in Belgium and, before that, in Silverstone for the ninth time. Everything fell into place, but he still managed to pull it off. I'm really looking forward to seeing Lewis at Ferrari."”

On the other hand, while Coronel noted the qualities of the seven-time World Champion, he said he didn't think he would have been Ferrari's first choice had Max Verstappen been available on the market at the same time.

“"You can tell in every way that Lewis is already saying goodbye to Mercedes and vice versa. I think it's a masterstroke by Ferrari to have signed him, but of course, they would have preferred to get Max."”

The Dutch racing driver also noted he didn't think it was possible for the Italian team to win a Championship with Hamilton, as in his eyes, there is only one driver that can do it with Ferrari.

“"Ferrari can only become world champion with Max; it's not going to happen with Hamilton. He's the second choice, but better second than third. With Hamilton, you know he's preparing for his retirement because after Ferrari, there's nothing left."”

As it stands, there are four very closely matched teams competing at the top, and it is very challenging to assess which one will come out on top even in the second half of this season, not to mention the next one.

However, Coronel confidently added that he believed Ferrari wouldn't be as fast as Hamilton's current team- Mercedes next year, which would make the Briton wake up "drenched in sweat" quite a few times.

“"Ferrari red is a dream come true for any driver, but you can bet that he’ll wake up a few times drenched in sweat next year. Because then he’ll be driving his red Ferrari right behind the Mercedes cars,"”