F1 News: Insider Backs Lewis Hamilton For Eighth Championship Title With Ferrari

Saajan Jogia | 2 Hours Ago

Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team driver Lewis Hamilton (44) of Team Great Britain and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team driver George Russell (63) of Team Great Britain sit in the back of a pickup truck during the driver’s parade before the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has backed Lewis Hamilton's chances of securing an eighth championship title with Ferrari following his move in 2025. Herbert emphasized that the seven-time world champion still has what it takes to win another title, and with Ferrari's strong pace, the prospect could very well become a reality.

The prospect of Hamilton securing his eighth title has been a major topic this year following his February announcement of a move to Ferrari in 2025. Despite winning six championships with Mercedes over 12 seasons, the Briton has faced challenges in the past three years, as Mercedes struggled to develop a competitive car in the ground effect era.

Despite showing signs of a resurgence this season, including Hamilton's two victories, Mercedes has once again struggled with its car after the summer break. Meanwhile, rival teams like McLaren and Ferrari have unlocked the secret to building a fast ground effect car, even surpassing Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship.

Despite spending three crucial years experimenting with the Brackley outfit, Herbert believes age won't be an obstacle for the 39-year-old driver, and with his relationship with team principal Fred Vasseur, he could receive the much-needed push to secure another championship victory. The team has built a competitive car capable of winning races and is now focused on challenging McLaren for the 2024 championship. Speaking to Vision4Sport, as quoted by RacingNews365, he said:

“Lewis will be looking to fly out of the blocks as quickly, and as positively as he can.

"Has he still got what it takes? I think he has.

“For Lewis, it will be something fresh. His relationship with Fred Vasseur will be positive and benefit the team. He really respects him. 

"Then there is Charles to deal with at the same time which will really motivate him. It is all about motivation for the driver.

“It should be a really good start for Ferrari because of the position they are in at the moment.

"They’ve got to tweak a couple of things to ensure overall consistency but the car has the pace to win races as Charles has proven.”

Vasseur revealed that Hamilton would test one of Ferrari's older cars before the pre-season test next year through the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) days, while also suggesting that he won’t require much time to adjust to the cars from Maranello. He said:

“I'm not sure that he needs tons of hours of acclimatisation.

“He is experienced enough to be quick on the first day, or at least very soon. We'll have one or two TPC [Testing of Previous Cars] days, plus the test in Bahrain, and that will be enough.”