Lewis Hamilton News: F1 champion Damon Hill BAFFLED by Ferrari decision

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari negative social — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 champion BAFFLED by Ferrari Hamilton decision

Lewis Hamilton is set to join Ferrari in 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 16 July 2024 16:59 Updated: 21:21

Former Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill has said he doesn't 'understand what's happening' at Ferrari, after the team made the huge decision to replace Carlos Sainz with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton shocked the F1 world when he announced he would be leaving Mercedes ahead of 2025, and joining Ferrari in a match up between the most successful team of all time, and one of the most successful drivers in F1 history.

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Since the move was announced, however, Hamilton's form has been poor, while Sainz has been delivering some consistent results for Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton did manage to claim his 104th career race victory last time out at the British Grand Prix, in a stunning return to the top step of the podium for the first time since December 2021.

Lewis Hamilton will join Ferrari in 2025

Carlos Sainz is still looking to secure his F1 future

Hill confused by Ferrari decisions

Hamilton currently sits eighth in the drivers' championship, one point behind team-mate George Russell.

Ferrari's drivers, meanwhile, sit third and fourth in the championship, with Leclerc leading his team-mate Sainz by four points.

However, Sainz missed a race through appendicitis surgery, which halted his run of podiums to start the 2024 season.

Questions have been asked as to whether Ferrari are replacing the right driver, with Leclerc's form taking a nosedive since he claimed his only victory of the season at the Monaco GP in May.

Now, 1996 champion Hill has uttered his confusion at Ferrari's decision to ditch Sainz instead of Leclerc for the incoming Hamilton, yet failing to alter the team dynamic to match this huge decision.

“What’s happening is a mystery to me," he told the F1 Nation podcast.

"Carlos Sainz seems to be getting out of situations better and doing more than Leclerc with the material at his disposal. Yet Charles is the driver who will stay. I don’t understand what’s happening at Ferrari.

“Leclerc is certainly not receiving much help from the team. But he also seems a bit confused and I don't understand why. Instead, Carlos gives the impression of taking control of the situation. He imposes himself more, he is the one who says what to do. Perhaps this gives the strategists more confidence, something they don't perceive with Charles."

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Carlos Sainz Damon Hill