F1 News: £80 Million for Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari Switch In Staggering Prediction

Peter Windsor believes Hamilton is worth a lot more than what current rumours suggest.

Speculations surrounding seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton's potential move to Ferrari are gaining momentum despite the driver rejecting the story. His current contract with Mercedes is due to end after the 2023 season, and now F1 commentator and former Williams and Ferrari team manager, Peter Windsor has brought a fresh perspective to the situation, saying that Hamilton shouldn't even think about the switch unless Ferrari are willing to shell out a minimum of £80 million.

A report by Mail Sport suggested that John Elkann, Ferrari president, has been talking with the driver, and an alleged £40 million offer is on the table for Hamilton to team up with Charles Leclerc for the 2024 season. Despite these rumours, Hamilton himself refuted these claims in Monte Carlo. He confidently said that his contract extension with Mercedes, his home team since 2013, is "almost" finalised, adding that he wouldn't think of moving elsewhere.

Ferrari team principal also Fred Vasseur dismissed these speculations as seasonal gossip. Still, he couldn't deny his desire to see Hamilton in their team, saying, "Every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage."

Peter Windsor took to YouTube, saying:

“I’ve seen a few numbers bandied around. One was £40million.

“If I was Lewis Hamilton, I’d be going for a lot more than £40million because you could argue that Lewis, with the Ferrari brand and what he could do for the Ferrari brand, should be thinking in terms of at least £50m just for PR and brand turnaround.

“And then how much is he worth as a driver, as a pure race driver? You’d have to say £25-30m.

“Forty? I would say about 80 would be more logical.

“And if they’re not going to pay that sort of money, I don’t think he should do it. I think he should stay at Mercedes and look for some long-term deal at Mercedes and continue.

“Because what you don’t want to do if you’re Lewis Hamilton is leave Mercedes just as they’re going to be competitive because the odds are, having been uncompetitive for so long, that a team that big and that good will eventually find a way.

“That’s another issue for Lewis, so he may well stay where he is and it could be the money that decides it.

“If I was managing Lewis and it was £40million, I’d say: ‘Nah, stay where you are.’

“Ferrari [is a] huge brand for Lewis Hamilton to put his name to. Massive. And that’s [worth] a lot more than a £40million deal in my view.”

Despite the allure of Ferrari's brand, Hamilton must also consider the competitiveness of the team. Ferrari hasn't won a World Championship title since 2008, and their last race win was in the first half of last year. But with upgrades coming to this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in the shape of a new sidepod concept, I wonder if things could change for the Scuderia.

“If Lewis is going to Ferrari, it’s such a big unknown in terms of how competitive that car would be that, if I was Lewis, I wouldn’t go for less than 80," Windsor continued.

“I did say £100m to a mate the other day and he said: ‘That’s a bit much, isn’t it?’

“I said: ‘OK, let’s bring it down to 80…’

“But 40? You’ve got to be joking. If he does it for 40, hats off to him because it means he’s just doing it for the love of the sport.

“I’m not decrying the enormity of £40million, but I’m just saying for that he might as well stay at Mercedes really.”

While Hamilton has yet to win a race since the second-to-last round of the 2021 season, he continues to be a strong face of the sport. And with F1 trying to expand and expansion meaning dollar signs, Hamilton brings a lot more than just performance.