Ferrari chairman insists age is not slowing Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton could be the key to a successful world championship campaign in his very first season at Ferrari in 2025.

That is the confident prediction of Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who during a recent visit to the Olympic Games in Paris was asked whether it was difficult to convince the seven-time world champion to leave Mercedes.

"Some things happen very quickly," the 48-year-old, who is the chosen heir of the powerful Agnelli empire in Italy, told Corriere dello Sport newspaper.

"This was the moment when he and Ferrari found each other. He wants to win the eighth title, Ferrari wants to win, and with Lewis we are stronger," Elkann added. "He doesn’t come to Ferrari to enjoy his retirement.

"It’s important to have motivated people around, who want to win."

Signing 39-year-old Hamilton, however, resulted in the ousting of Ferrari’s in-form and decade-younger incumbent Carlos Sainz - who has now signed with Williams for 2025.

"It is tragic that he is having his best season at Ferrari and is not getting a seat in a top team," Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, who brought Sainz into F1 at the same time as Max Verstappen, told Speed Week.

"But things should be moving forward at Williams, he has a strong engine there too. And apparently there is a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if an offer comes from a much better placed team," Marko added.

It will be Hamilton, however, who is almost certain to be much closer to the very front of the field in 2025.

"In Formula 1, there is real competition now, with four teams all very close - Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes," Elkann continued.

"It is important to always go to the maximum of your potential, and those with more experience have more consistency, as demonstrated by Hamilton and also (Fernando) Alonso. And this consistency counts."

Elkann insists he is not worried about Hamilton’s age, or his regular suggestions that retirement is now looming somewhere on the horizon.

"I think of Djokovic, Federer, Ronaldo, Messi, Paltrinieri, and the thought that with sacrifice and dedication, you can overcome the physical limits of age," said the Italian, chairman not only of Ferrari but also Stellantis and Exor.

"It is also true that we are in a historical phase in which we live longer and the careers of athletes are lengthening."