Published By: Sports Desk
Last Updated: February 14, 2024, 00:01 IST
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Lewis Hamilton’s arrival will current “a huge opportunity” for Ferrari subsequent 12 months however signing the seventime Formula One champion concerned some uncomfortable telephone calls, group principal Fred Vasseur stated Tuesday.
MARANELLO, Italy: Lewis Hamilton’s arrival will current “a huge opportunity” for Ferrari subsequent 12 months however signing the seven-time Formula One champion concerned some uncomfortable telephone calls, group principal Fred Vasseur stated Tuesday.
Hamilton is becoming a member of Ferrari for subsequent season after driving for Mercedes since 2013. He will group up with Charles Leclerc on the Italian group after Carlos Sainz Jr. leaves.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the team, for sure,” stated Vasseur, who has recognized Hamilton since they labored collectively through the British driver’s path by means of junior classes within the mid-2000s earlier than his F1 debut with McLaren in 2007. That relationship helped be certain that the settlement was made “naturally,” he stated.
Vasseur stated the coup of signing Hamilton — a deal which stunned many in F1 — meant some troublesome conversations with Sainz and with Mercedes group principal Toto Wolff, an previous buddy.
“As you can imagine, it was not the easiest call of my life (with Sainz). One of the most difficult was the one with Toto,” Vasseur stated. “I’m fully convinced that (Sainz) is a very professional driver, that he understands that we have a long season in front of us. We had a long discussion, as you can imagine, but I will be fully supporting Carlos. He is fully committed.”
Hamilton’s transfer was introduced on Feb. 1 and he stated a number of days later that driving in Ferrari purple represented a “chance to fulfill another childhood dream.”
Leclerc stated he was wanting ahead to studying from Hamilton.
“We’ve had discussions with, Lewis, especially when everything was announced and official, we texted each other, of course,” he stated. “Lewis is a great champion with a lot of experience and so much success. It is always interesting to have a new teammate as you learn different ways of working, of driving, and even more so when my new teammate is a seven-time world champion.”
Ferrari on Tuesday unveiled its 2024 automobile, which the group stated had been designed with a heavy emphasis on “drivability” — making the automobile simpler for Leclerc and Sainz to drive and extra adaptable in a spread of situations than the generally unpredictable 2023 automobile.
Red Bull gained all however one of many races final 12 months as Max Verstappen ran away with the drivers’ title. Ferrari struggled for a lot of the season however was the one different group to take a race victory as Sainz gained the Singapore Grand Prix.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
