P1racenews AI automatic summary:
As Lewis Hamilton looks to be on the verge of a bombshell move to Ferrari, much of this echos his move away from childhood team McLaren when he joined Mercedes.
When Lewis Hamilton decided to leave McLaren and join Mercedes in 2012, it was seen as a risky move. At that time, McLaren was the only team capable of challenging Red Bull for World Championships. However, behind the scenes, Mercedes was preparing for a major technical regulation overhaul in F1 with the switch to hybrid engines, and they had a plan for world domination. Hamilton’s move to Mercedes was strategic, as Michael Schumacher was uncertain about continuing beyond 2012. Meanwhile, McLaren was experiencing discontent and their technical prowess was stagnating. They later struggled with reliability issues when they switched to Honda power. It took McLaren years to regain their competitive edge. Similarly, Mercedes is currently working to improve their form after taking a gamble with their 2022 car concept. Hamilton, now at the peak of his career, might be seeking a move to Ferrari for new challenges and to inject new life into his career.
