'Must Have Crystal Ball': Hamilton's Move To Ferrari Discussed By Chandhok
F1Wednesday, 24 April 2024 at 13:30
Sky Sport's pundit Karun Chandhok (a former F1 driver) discussed Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari, which seems to have the perfect timing.
When Lewis Hamilton announced ahead of this season he would be switching teams from Mercedes to Ferrari after 2024, it didn't make sense to most people.
Why? Because Mercedes finished ahead of Ferrari in 10 out of last 11 seasons, including the most recent one (2023). On the other hand, it is important to note that Ferrari has been very closely matched with Mercedes in both 2022 and 2023.
Nevertheless, it seemed like a strange move. But five races into the 2024 season, Mercedes stands fourth in the Championship, 99 points behind Ferrari, and the seven-time World Champion's decision to change teams seems perfectly timed all of a sudden. Karun Chandhok told Sky Sports:
"Lewis Hamilton must have a crystal ball, don't he? He made that switch. We're sitting here, we're only five weekends into the season and Mercedes are 99 points behind Ferrari."
As soon as Hamilton's switch was announced, Damon Hill (1996 F1 Champion) suggested the 39-year-old wouldn't change teams if he believed he had at least a 50% chance of winning with Mercedes.
Many speculate that the British driver had to know there was either something super wrong with the German team or that Ferrari was doing something very well.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff dismissed all the theories suggesting Hamilton knew Mercedes wouldn't perform well when he revealed the seven-time World Champion hadn't even driven the car on the simulator before he made his decision.
Regardless of whether he knew about something or he just made the decision based on gut feeling, data from the first five races of the season vindicate his choice. Chandhok added:
On a weekend, we were just saying, 'Ferrari haven't had a great race, sort of underperformed. ' The best Mercedes is still a long way behind the best Ferrari.
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