{"id":30665,"date":"2025-02-20T10:11:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T15:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=30665"},"modified":"2025-02-20T10:14:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T15:14:11","slug":"hamilton-i-dont-see-myself-ready-to-stop-if-i-win-ferrari-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/20\/hamilton-i-dont-see-myself-ready-to-stop-if-i-win-ferrari-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamilton: &#8220;I don&#8217;t see myself ready to stop&#8221; if I win Ferrari title"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lewis Hamilton and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/19\/leclerc-would-be-disappointed-if-ferrari-dont-win-a-title-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Charles Leclerc<\/a> are just weeks away from their first race weekend as Ferrari teammates. For obvious reasons, this is one of the most highly anticipated driver line-ups in the sport&#8217;s history.<\/p>\n<p>For Hamilton, joining Ferrari represents <strong>an immense challenge in the final chapter of his career<\/strong> &#8211; especially considering the talent on the opposite side of the garage.<\/p>\n<p>Leclerc will push the 7-time Champion to his limits, in a 2025 season that could fundamentally impact both drivers&#8217; F1 careers.<\/p>\n<h2>Why 2025 is such an important year for Hamilton and Leclerc<\/h2>\n<p>It is no secret that Ferrari are striving for both Championships this year.<\/p>\n<p>After almost two decades without taking an F1 title, the Scuderia have all the ingredients to end their drought.<\/p>\n<p>The Scuderia&#8217;s Monza upgrade package, which corrected their previous miscalculation of their updates from the Spanish GP, established a strong foundation for their 2025 car.<\/p>\n<p>Team Principal <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/16\/fred-vasseur-not-worried-about-leclerc-and-hamilton-competition\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Fred Vasseur<\/a> has confirmed the SF-25 is fundamentally different to its predecessor, making <strong>radical changes in terms of aerodynamic concept and internal configuration<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"kOICybE_TyZN4t6U20B2IA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2199869489\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'kOICybE_TyZN4t6U20B2IA',sig:'xlxTksCiqp2IMmcRghoVa5qJIAEvL55qst3TH2WXQcM=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2199869489',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Assuming Ferrari can fight for the Championship, Leclerc and Hamilton have very different &#8211; though equally powerful &#8211; motivations to secure the crown.<\/p>\n<p>Having raced at Ferrari since 2019, Leclerc has been a central part of the Scuderia&#8217;s project.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/20\/yuki-tsunoda-there-can-be-interesting-options-beyond-red-bull\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Tsunoda &#8211; &#8220;There can be &#8216;interesting options&#8217; beyond Red Bull<\/a><\/p>\n<p>From the leadership Arrivabene to Binotto and now Vasseur, the Monegasque has shown unwavering commitment in the team&#8217;s journey to the top.<\/p>\n<p>Should Hamilton arrive at Maranello and immediately take the crown, it would be a massive blow for a driver that has been central to the Italian outfit&#8217;s aspiration.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/11\/lewis-hamilton-positive-feedback-from-first-ferrari-runs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lewis Hamilton<\/a> is entering the final chapter of his career.<\/p>\n<p>If Leclerc wins the title, or even comprehensively outperforms him, the 40-year-old will find himself in a very awkward position.<\/p>\n<p>Not only is success a huge unknown for Ferrari in 2026, but even if they hit the ground running with the new regulations, Hamilton will <strong>be eager to silence suggestions that his best days are behind him<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>A strong season relative to Leclerc, and especially a Championship, would be transformative to his F1 legacy.<\/p>\n<p>It would significantly lessen the pressure on Vasseur&#8217;s personnel to start the 2026 regulations on the front foot.<\/p>\n<h4>Hamilton opens up on Ferrari outlook<\/h4>\n<p>As outlined above, the dynamics within the Italian outfit are complex.<\/p>\n<p>From the perspective of Lewis Hamilton, joining Ferrari serves as the perfect motivator to extend his career.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/05\/hamilton-can-beat-leclerc-if-he-returns-to-usual-level-rosberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Going head-to-head against Charles Leclerc will be the ultimate test<\/a>, but the 7-time Champion relishes this prospect:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;We have a great relationship and I consider him a very strong driver,&#8221; <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gazzetta.it\/Formula-1\/19-02-2025\/formula-1-hamilton-l-ottavo-titolo-no-voglio-il-primo-con-la-ferrari.shtml?intcmp=hyperlink-articolo-gazit&amp;refresh_ce\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he told Gazzetta<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I said it in Bahrain many years ago. He has a bright future ahead of him.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"HA9WC1ImSQF7TwcTjBhWJQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2200587394\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'HA9WC1ImSQF7TwcTjBhWJQ',sig:'2ChS69zgwLk-OcCVKA7P0uezooWjJC-D6DPJPYB-h_I=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2200587394',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Charles is only 27 but he is very mature for his age, probably more mature than I was at 27. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;We will work together to make sure the team moves in the right direction.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;If I was lucky enough to win another title, which is obviously what we&#8217;re working towards, <strong>I don&#8217;t see myself ready to stop<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;For me it&#8217;s not about winning the eighth title. For me this would be the first &#8211; winning the first World Championship with Ferrari.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;It&#8217;s about entering the history of this team by trying to win the first success with them.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are just weeks away from their first race weekend as Ferrari teammates. For obvious reasons, this is one of the most highly anticipated driver line-ups in the sport&#8217;s history. For Hamilton, joining Ferrari represents an immense challenge in the final chapter of his career &#8211; especially considering the talent on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":30666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2452,84,76],"class_list":["post-30665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-ferrari","tag-lewis-hamilton"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30665"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30674,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30665\/revisions\/30674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}