Don’t write Hamilton off. Ferrari should sign him, says Johnny Herbert – F1sport.cz

So far, the last victory of his career was achieved by Lewis Hamilton in Saudi Arabia in the season of 2021. In the final of the following season, he lost his eighth championship title after a controversial conclusion, and with the introduction of new technical rules, Mercedes . to suffer

After last season, the Silver Arrows will not fight for the title this year either, when Lewis Hamilton reached the podium only once in five races. The seven-time British champion finished second in Melbourne, but according to teammate and former F1 driver Johnny Herbert, Hamilton is certainly not lacking in motivation.

“From a racing driver’s point of view, I see no reason why he should not be motivated to fight for an eighth world championship,” Herbert told Ice36 about Hamilton.

“He’s still very good. And I know what it means to him. George Russell is doing a great job but it’s Lewis who has what it takes to win the race.

“He doesn’t feel good in his car at the moment, but that just happens. Every driver I know has gone through a period like that in his career. Everyone has had those moments of complaining about the car.”

“It is not fair to criticize Lewis for that. He is still motivated to win an eighth title.”

Hamilton won his first title with McLaren and moved to Mercedes before the 2013 season. He certainly didn’t have a great car at the time, and Ferrari is now in a similar performance position. So Herbert is of the opinion that Ferrari can bet on the same approach as Mercedes ten years ago. That is, to recognize the transfer of Lewis Hamilton.

“He will need all the ingredients to win an eighth title. He had them even then when he moved to Mercedes, although many people, including me, thought it was crazy.

“Mercedes was far from leading at the time, but Niki Lauda and Ross Brawn convinced Lewis. And he nodded.”

“Ferrari should do the same now. Lewis has not yet signed a contract extension, which allows him to look elsewhere as well.”

“And why wouldn’t he? Ferrari has to be a real possibility. He’s definitely not going to Red Bull, it’s just not going to happen. And he’s not going to Aston Martin either.”

“I am well aware that Ferrari is currently not doing what we would expect from Ferrari. However, they certainly have a lot of potential to do it. That’s for sure,” Herbert believes in the future improvement of the Italian team and its participation in the fight for the title.

“They were already in recent years Ferrari several times close, but still did not succeed. Perhaps now Hamilton will be watching to see what direction Mercedes will take next. If it doesn’t look positive, maybe Lewis will start looking elsewhere,” thinks Herbert.