Chasing his elusive eighth World title, Lewis Hamilton has been told his “best chance” at securing that is now in his first season with Ferrari.

Hamilton last won the World title in 2020 when he clinched his seventh Drivers’ title overall and fourth on the trot as Mercedes recorded a dominant period of seven years with seven doubles, Hamilton’s reign only interrupted once when his team-mate Nico Rosberg won the 2016 title.

‘This might be Lewis Hamilton’s best chance of an eighth World title’

Hamilton went into the final season before F1 overhauled the cars seeking to break his tie with Michael Schumacher but it came to nought when he lost the title on the final lap of the championship when Max Verstappen swooped past him at the Yas Marina circuit.

The Red Bull driver won the race and the title, his first year in a four-year championship run.

But having come under pressure last season as Red Bull’s rivals closed the gap on the track, even Verstappen’s team principal Christian Horner is predicting a “super tight” F1 2025 championship.

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And it is one in which the Briton believes Hamilton will have a “box office” role after his move from Mercedes to Ferrari.

After 12 season with Mercedes and six World titles, Hamilton is officially a Ferrari driver and expectations are running high. Not only are Ferrari’s higher-ups and the Tifosi banking on the 40-year-old winning a World title, but so too far F1 pundits.

“What I would say,” said F1 pundit David Croft at the Autosport Awards, “is this might be Lewis’ best chance of an eighth World title, given the season that it could be in terms of teams won’t be throwing developments week after week after week

“Because they’ve got 2026 to think about I do think Ferrari will be the most keen to get the most out of 2025 of the big four teams because it’s so long since they won something and they want to prove that Lewis is the right man and or Charles as well.”

Formula 1 will revamp the regulations next year, not only putting all-new cars on the grid but also new engines. In what is arguably the biggest overall ever of the sport’s regulations, 2026 could see the sport’s pecking order turned on its head.

Piero Ferrari, Ferrari’s vice chairman and the last surviving son of founder Enzo Ferrari, believes Hamilton, despite already being 40, can get the job done.

“He is intact, he is in shape both physically and mentally, I don’t really think age is a problem,” he told Autosprint. “He accepted the challenge with enormous enthusiasm,.

“From the way we have concluded, well, 2024 I can only be moderately optimistic. 2025 will be a beautiful and spectacular season, because we are on the last page of a regulation that closes and everyone will be at their peak performance. Then in 2026 will it change?”

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