Bernie Ecclestone’s prediction that Lewis Hamilton “won’t last that long” at Ferrari should not be written off, that’s according to former F1 driver Christian Danner who “doubts” Hamilton will win a title with Ferrari.

After 12 seasons with Mercedes, Hamilton is officially a Ferrari driver having joined the Maranello team at the age of 40 in pursuit of a record-breaking eighth World title.

‘He’s not going to become World Champion whistling’

Arriving in Maranello in mid-January, it’s been a month of Hamilton and Ferrari headlines such is the world’s interest as the most successful driver ever teams up with the sport’s most successful team.

Both have one goal in mind, a World title.

While Hamilton has been stuck on seven titles since 2020, the Briton losing out on his record-breaking eighth on the final lap of the 2021 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ferrari too have had their share of heartbreak since their last World title in 2007.

Arguably the biggest disappointment hit a year later when Felipe Massa was World Champion for all of 39 seconds before his title rival made a pass on the final lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix to grab the necessarily points to beat Massa to the title. That driver? Lewis Hamilton.

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But can Hamilton now turn Ferrari frustrations into Tifosi joy? Danner doubts it.

“I really have my doubts whether it will actually go well there,” the 66-year-old told Motorsportmagazin.com. “You also don’t know how superior the car is going to be, of course. At the beginning of his time at Mercedes, that difference was very big.

“That’s not going to be the case at Ferrari now. It’s going to be really tight in the fight for the title, both internally with Leclerc and with everyone else.

“He’s not going to become World Champion whistling.

“Look at Schumacher at Ferrari, for example, then it also took two to three years. He ended up with a great technical team around him and a superior car in every aspect. Those are important factors, so I doubt how that will go.”

Danner isn’t the only F1 personality who has doubts about the Hamilton/Ferrari partnership.

Earlier this month, former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone predicted that Hamilton would not be around for the full duration of his reported three-year contract.

“He won’t last that long,” the 94-year-old told the Telegraph. “Piero Ferrari, who has taken him there, still thinks they’ve done the right thing. But I worry they haven’t just jumped in and end up wishing they hadn’t.

“Hamilton, he’s getting tired, he’s lost motivation. If he never won a World Championship, it might be different, because then there would be an incentive to keep racing. But he’s won seven.”

Danner says fans shouldn’t be so quick to write off Ecclestone’s prediction, the German saying it could play out just as Ecclestone claimed.

“He had a clear opinion about Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. He doesn’t think you can change everything in two years. Bernie is a bit sarcastic, but you certainly can’t underestimate him,” he said.

“Bernie comes from a completely different time and has always done what he wanted. That’s why I’m anything but surprised by what he said about Hamilton. It can happen just like that, but we’ll see how he’s going to do.

“Still, it’s cool that Lewis is going to Ferrari, but we can’t underestimate what Bernie says.”

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