Why expectations set by John Elkann for Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move risk being irrational. Analyzing the recent comments made by Ferrari president John Elkann.

A few days ago, John Elkann, president of Stellantis, Ferrari, the Agnelli Foundation, and chief executive officer of Exor, visited the headquarters of the Italian athletes who are currently taking part in the ongoing Olympics competition under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. The manager of the Agnelli dynasty, during the presentation of the initiative carried out alongside the Italian National Olympic Committee, also spoke about Scuderia Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton. It is no secret that the upcoming arrival of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion in Maranello was strongly desired by the president of the Prancing Horse himself, after years of negotiations and discussions.

The signing of the living legend of Formula 1 clearly and obviously demonstrates how the top management of the Maranello team intends to bring the Italian side back to the role it deserves. Nevertheless, we should not forget the fact that many champions of the recent past have worn the uniform of the historic Italian team without being able to win the Formula 1 world title. The difference, essentially, between F1 and other sports is that the added value of the driver is not enough to achieve success.

And at this point it’s worth remembering that rumors are intensifying about the imminent announcement of Adrian Newey to Aston Martin.

A piece of news we also reported a few days ago that unfortunately represents a clear defeat for the Prancing Horse. As publicly and repeatedly stated by team principal Frederic Vasseur during the last few months, Lewis Hamilton’s signing, beyond his on-track performance, was supposed to serve as a draw for British technicians, who are often reluctant to leave their comfort zone. An area where almost all F1 teams are located within a few kilometers of each other. Despite the regret of never having collaborated with Lewis Hamilton, the brilliant English designer will find comfort in interacting with another veteran of the category, the two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

President John Elkann explained that Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari had found each other, with the British driver coming to the Maranello team with the clear goal of winning and making Ferrari stronger in anticipating future challenges. He described Lewis Hamilton as a great athlete, highly motivated to become an eight-time world champion, as evidenced by his recent races, and emphasized that the current Mercedes driver was not joining the team to enjoy retirement but to continue competing at the highest level. John Elkann acknowledged the mutual motivation between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari but noted that good intentions needed to be supported by solid realities. By mid-2024, the Italian team, which had nurtured championship dreams until the triumphant Monaco Grand Prix, seemed to have little left to strive for.

This is a scenario that has been repeating itself cyclically for several years, but the 2024 Formula 1 championship represents a huge disappointment, given that there is no longer a clearly dominant team, unlike the past two years. The final part of the current championship will be very important, taking into consideration the fact that the 2025 cars will not undergo significant developments next year. Yet another technical revolution will once again change the face of the cars starting in 2026, which means that from next January, all teams will allocate most of their resources to the design and development of future Formula 1 cars.

Therefore, being competitive until the end of this season is a sort of insurance for the future competitiveness of the 677 project. Despite the fact that John Elkann is not a Formula 1 expert, he has understood that performance convergence among the top teams has finally begun, as the Ferrari president pointed out that this year in F1 there is real competition; there are four teams very close to each other, and this makes everything much more interesting. Red Bull started well, then Ferrari, McLaren, and now Mercedes: it’s finally an open championship with great drivers. What matters is performing at the maximum of one’s potential, John Elkann believes.

According to the Ferrari president, those with more experience, like Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, tend to have greater consistency. And this can make the difference. All true, except that the Prancing Horse, which should and could have been in the fight at least for the constructors’ title this season, a goal indicated at the start of the year by the team principal of the Maranello team, is notably absent. Probably, as the president of Ferrari says, consistency in championships like this year’s will be a crucial factor for ultimate success.

However, it’s not guaranteed that the next championship will necessarily offer the same level of balance, which favors experienced and consistent drivers like Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso. In short, the comments of Ferrari’s number one seem, once again, to be mere formalities and, above all, very distant from reality. The hope is that Lewis Hamilton’s signing isn’t just a classic fig leaf covering completely unfounded ambitions. We say this because, to win in Formula 1, you first need a team capable of creating a winning project, like McLaren is proving capable of this year, despite the fact that the team led by Andrea Stella is also showing some clear limitations such as driver management, pit stop decisions and also some mistakes from the drivers.

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