The ‘dumb questions’ Lewis Hamilton may have to answer about Mercedes when he joins Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is one of the most anticipated in world sport as the seven-time World Champion will make his way over to the most successful team in F1.

The Briton is making the move after years of competing under the Mercedes umbrella, having raced with their engines while at McLaren and then later the works team where he took six drivers crowns.

Rumours he would join Ferrari were initially dismissed as speculation last year, then subsequently put to rest when Hamilton signed an extension with Mercedes through to 2026. After a disappointing 2023 season, Hamilton activated a break clause in his contract that enabled him to leave and sign for Ferrari.

Hamilton will have his first taste of a Ferrari in 2025, owing to Mercedes stipulating that he must carry out a sponsorship commitment at the end of the 2024 season.

Discussing the move on his YouTube livestream, Peter Windsor thinks the seven-time world champion will be on the receiving end of numerous questions if one scenario plays out pre-season.

Peter Windsor expects Lewis Hamilton questions in 2025 testing

Hamilton faced questions over his move to Ferrari and whether it was the right one, as he bids to win his eighth title in F1.

Windsor expects the same questions will be levelled at Hamilton in the early days of his Maranello career, especially if Mercedes are quick in pre-season testing.

“I can predict it now, in terms of obvious dumb questions that will come up over the winter, if there is a scenario where in the tests the new Mercedes is really quick and all of a sudden George is quickset and Antonelli is behind him and the Ferrari is not very good,” said Windsor.

“You can imagine a lot of people will saying to Lewis ‘What do you think about Mercedes? Do you think you made a mistake’ and of course Lewis won’t care. He’ll say the right thing ‘Oh I’m really happy for the guys, it’s great for them, don’t worry we’ll be ok. And he’ll be happy for them because he knows that Ferrari will have a reasonable car 50% of the time and he’ll get on with it.”

Can Ferrari challenge for titles in 2025?

Ferrari got off to a slow start in 2024, but their technical team is slowly transitioning into an outfit that could yield success.

The team has not won a Drivers’ Championship since 2007, but they have recently started to finish back in the top three of the Constructors’ table and win races more regularly.

Along with Hamilton, former head of vehicle dynamics, Loic Serra is joining Ferrari from Mercedes in what is supposed to be a big technical coup for the team, along with several other engineers who will help them understand the key limitations of their car concept.

Charles Leclerc is convinced Ferrari has the technical prowess to achieve their first title since 2008, based on their upgrades this season which have yielded impressive results at Monza, Azerbaijan and Mexico.