Former team principal Eddie Jordan has predicted “fireworks” for Lewis Hamilton when he joins Ferrari, and believes he will give an “almighty crack” for next year’s World Championship.
Hamilton will form a highly-anticipated driver line-up next season when he joins Ferrari to partner Charles Leclerc, with the seven-time World Champion also linking up with his former team boss in Fred Vasseur, whom he worked with while rising through the junior categories.
Lewis Hamilton tipped to be ‘serious contender’ after Ferrari move
Hamilton has not won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in what is the longest winless streak of his illustrious career, with Mercedes having won once in the ground-effect era through George Russell in Brazil in 2022.
While Hamilton and Russell have continued to score podiums, Mercedes taking second place in the Constructors’ Championship last season, this year has been more of a struggle for the eight-time Constructors’ champions, who currently sit fourth in the standings.
With a change of scene coming after more than a decade with the team, former eponymous team principal Jordan believes this comes at a time for Hamilton that makes sense, with the move to Ferrari as a chance to work at a “magic place” in Formula 1.
“I think his mojo was up at Mercedes, I think he needed a new home,” Jordan explained on the Formula For Success podcast.
“And often the case is when the time and the pressure and the stress on people is so intense, you need to find another set [of] parameters – and I think that’s [why] Lewis went there.
How has Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari shaken up Formula 1 and its driver market?
“I truthfully don’t believe it’s to do with contracts or money. I think he feels that he would like to see his career finish at Ferrari because it’s a magic place to go.
“And he intends to go to live in Italy, which I can understand. He intends to learn the language fluently, and I think they’re all very important [aspects] because if you don’t do that, you will not be ingratiated within the Ferrari confines.
“Can he win a World Championship in the future? I think they are very strong. We are all very impressed with Fred Vasseur because I think Fred has brought a magic calm to that team.
“If you can see it, it’s a bit like what McLaren is doing – and that is they’re slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly catching the monkey, and the monkey being Red Bull.
“So they’re slowly catching up, and that’s great for us because we will actually see better high-quality races and, hopefully, we won’t see Max going into the distance 20 or 30 seconds in the front.”
Fellow podcast presenter and 13-time Grand Prix winner, David Coulthard, wondered if Hamilton would be able to battle the “natural curve” of driving past his 40th birthday – particularly with Leclerc as a team-mate.
While he pointed out his wish to see a close battle at the Scuderia next year and that he would be “delighted” to see Hamilton at his best, Coulthard said the challenge of Leclerc on the other side of the garage will be a tough one.
“How do you think he’s going to coexist with Charles Leclerc?” Coulthard asked Jordan.
“I’ve said that, personally, Charles at 27, one of the fastest guys, is going to be a big challenge for Lewis.
“You know, he’s going to be 40. I’m not questioning Lewis’ brilliance, but it’s just the natural curve in someone’s career.
“I’ve got to believe that Lewis is at the point where he’s got all of the experience, but I can’t believe he’s getting quicker at that age. And I know that it’s going to upset the Lewis fans, but obviously, I would be delighted to see that he’s defying age, and it’s going to be a close battle between him and Charles.”
Jordan then responded with his belief that Hamilton will be a “serious contender” to add an eighth World Championship to his CV, and predicts he will have an “almighty crack” at doing so before Formula 1’s regulation reset in 2026.
“My opinion, I disagree,” he said. “Because I think certainly for next year, ’25, the new rules will not be in place, so he will be effectively driving what is the car that he’s got that is there this year.
“I think at 39 that Lewis, when he gets himself with red overalls, just like when he left McLaren and went to Mercedes, it was just like fireworks.
“I think that Lewis will be a serious contender for the World Championship, and I promise you he will give it an almighty crack next year before ’26. Anything can happen.”