Lewis Hamilton won’t have to put up with Mercedes mechanic policy he didn’t like when he joins Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton will face a cultural shift when he joins Ferrari next year. He’s spent his entire career racing for predominantly British teams based in the UK.

Adapting to a new car will of course be the biggest challenge. But to maximise his chances of winning a record eighth world championship at Maranello, Hamilton will have to successfully integrate himself into the Ferrari team at large.

Charles Leclerc has that advantage at the outset. The Monegasque is a product of the team’s driver academy and has been racing for them since 2019.

However, his new team have already taken steps to make him feel welcome. Hamilton will use Enzo Ferrari’s prestigious home as a base when he’s working with his new engineers at the factory or Fiorano test track.

To reciprocate that effort, Hamilton has begun learning Italian just like one of his predecessors, Michael Schumacher. His teammate Leclerc is already fluent.

Importantly, he has a pre-existing relationship with team principal Fred Vasseur. Hamilton expressed his Ferrari dream to Vasseur when they worked together in their junior categories in the mid-2000s.

Ferrari won’t swap Lewis Hamilton’s mechanics as Mercedes have done

Back in 2016, Hamilton lost out to Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the F1 title fight. As Rosberg adopted a ruthless approach, their relationship became colder than ever.

One source of controversy that year was the team’s policy of swapping mechanics. Hamilton hinted that he was unhappy with the rotation across the garage, saying ‘you’ll have to buy my book in 10 years’ time to find out exactly what happened’ (via Autosport).

In a separate interview with Sky Sports F1, he said he viewed his mechanics as his ‘soldiers’. But former F1 team manager Peter Windsor says he’ll be able to work with the same crew for the full season at Ferrari.

“They’ll keep the same mechanics on the same car throughout the year,” he said. “None of this Mercedes stuff of switching them halfway through.”

George Russell rejects one behind the scenes theory about Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

Rosberg is one of only three drivers to beat Hamilton in the championship. Jenson Button was the first, but George Russell could achieve the unique feat of doing so twice.

Ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, Russell is two points ahead of Hamilton in the standings. He’s outscored the seven-time world champion 76-40 since the summer break.

In Wednesday’s pre-race press conference, Russell said Hamilton has never had a ‘stronger’ voice behind the scenes. Instead, Mercedes have placed equal importance on the feedback of both drivers.

Windsor feels Mercedes should have deferred to Hamilton given his greatness. In his eyes, that meant keeping Valtteri Bottas as his compliant number 2, rather than hiring a rising star in Russell.