Ted Kravitz has put forth his “private idea” relating to Lewis Hamilton’s selection to maneuver to Ferrari, suggesting it was influenced by his admiration for Ayrton Senna.
Hamilton just lately revealed his choice to depart from Mercedes and be part of Ferrari by the conclusion of 2024, marking a big shift for probably the most completed driver in F1 historical past as he aligns with the game’s most triumphant staff in 2025.
The seven-time World Champion’s departure from Mercedes follows two seasons with out securing a win in 2022/23. Hamilton’s final race victory dates again to the second-to-last race of the 2021 season in Saudi Arabia.
All through his illustrious profession, Hamilton has regularly drawn parallels between himself and his childhood hero, Senna, the Brazilian racer who clinched three World Championships in 4 years with McLaren from 1988 to 1991.
Senna tragically misplaced his life in a crash throughout the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola whereas competing for Williams. Within the wake of his passing, it got here to mild that Senna had expressed curiosity in becoming a member of Ferrari throughout the latter part of his profession.
Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo disclosed in 2020 that Senna had approached him in regards to the prospect of signing with the Scuderia.
Reflecting on his tenure at Ferrari, Di Montezemolo revealed that, “Not having signed Ayrton Senna” stays his most important remorse.
He acknowledged: “He got here to my home in Bologna earlier than the Imola accident and instructed me that he wished to drive for us in any respect prices and to free himself from Williams.
“We agreed to talk after Imola, however then what occurred. He wished to come back to us and I might have been completely satisfied to have him.
“It will have been the icing on the cake, which was then Michael Schumacher who entered Ferrari historical past as a result of no one did what he did.”
Former Ferrari staff principal Jean Todt corroborated Di Montezemolo’s assertions, disclosing in 2021 that he prolonged a proposal to Senna shortly after assuming his position at Maranello in 1993.
He acknowledged; “Just a few weeks after I arrived, I met Ayrton Senna throughout the Monza weekend on the resort we had been staying at on Lake Como. I provided him to modify to Ferrari in 1995, however he was pushing for 1994.
“We already had two drivers underneath contract, Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger, so we couldn’t fulfill his request and when Ayrton requested why I defined the state of affairs to him.
“He didn’t surrender, telling me that in Formulation 1 contracts don’t rely, however I replied that for me a contract must be revered. So we provided him a deal for 1995, however sadly we all know what occurred.”
Kravitz prompt in an interview throughout the pre-season testing that Hamilton’s selection to affix Ferrari may need been pushed by a longing to meet what Senna was tragically unable to realize.
He acknowledged: “I’ve a private idea: he spent plenty of his Christmas and New Yr in Brazil and we all know that Ayrton was all the time Lewis’s childhood hero.
“In fact, you knew Ayrton Senna very effectively and I don’t assume it’s any secret that after his Williams drive, Ayrton wished to complete his profession at Ferrari – I feel that’s been documented over time.”
Symonds concurred, asserting that Hamilton’s choice may develop into a stroke of genius contemplating Ferrari’s promising developments final season, throughout which the Scuderia emerged as the only staff, except for Crimson Bull, to safe a race victory.
He answered: “I feel there’s something in that truly, Ted. These guys are sportsmen at coronary heart and there may be that romanticism about it. Ferrari is a reputation, it’s what each child goals.
“I feel he’s achieved a lot. Is {that a} gamble price taking? Sure, after all it’s. In fact it’s. And let’s face it, Ferrari had been fast final 12 months. Ferrari had been higher than their Championship outcomes actually confirmed.
“There have been occasions once they shot themselves within the foot however, essentially, that they had a automotive that was very fast in qualifying and was affordable – not as fast as Crimson Bull, however affordable within the race.
“So in the event that they’re putting in issues to take that additional, it could possibly be an excellent transfer.”
