Ferrari have signed 'the wrong driver' as Lewis Hamilton given damning assessment amid Mercedes nightmare

Ferrari have signed 'the wrong driver' as Lewis Hamilton given damning assessment amid Mercedes nightmare

WATCH NOW: Lewis Hamilton and his dog ahead of the F1 season

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 01/04/2024

- 16:11

The Brit has struggled in the first three races of the 2024 F1 season

Former F1 driver Christian Danner claims Ferrari have made a mistake in signing Lewis Hamilton to replace Carlos Sainz.

Hamilton will make the move from the 2025 season after exercising an option to end his Mercedes contract early.


The Brit will have spent 12 seasons with the Silver Arrows when he eventually leaves at the end of 2024.

He has won six of his seven world titles at Mercedes but hasn't won a race in the last two seasons and turned 39 in January.

Lewis Hamilton

Christian Danner says Ferrari shoudn't have signed Lewis Hamilton

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Hamilton will team up with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, with Sainz's future still up in the air.

But the Spaniard reminded everyone of his qualities last weekend when he sped to victory at the Australian Grand Prix.

Sainz has now won two of the last 11 races dating back to the Singapore Grand Prix last September.

In fact, he is the only driver other than Max Verstappen to triumph in any of the last 21 races.

Ferrari saw the opportunity to lure seven-time world champion Hamilton and it is Sainz who will make way.

But former German driver Danner says Ferrari's team principal Fred Vasseur has made a mistake and should have stuck with Sainz.

Hamilton has had a nightmare start to the season at Mercedes, finishing ninth and seventh in the first two races before engine failure saw him retire in Australia.

Danner told MotorsportMagazin: "If you want Hamilton, you’ve kept the wrong one because he [Sainz] is faster, but that’s highly political.

"He [Vasseur] should have waited a little longer. It wasn’t a necessity. I wouldn’t blame Lewis for stumbling at the moment, but one thing is clear.

"Sainz in this kind of form, when he has Leclerc under control like this, you can say that he [Vasseur] perhaps made his decision too early.

"Sainz is approaching it with a commitment, a joy and an aggressiveness.

"I really like that. It also requires a fervent attitude: 'Now it’s me and no one else'.

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Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has had a nightmare start to the 2024 F1 season

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"You can see it not only in his eyes, but in every corner and at the moment, Carlos Sainz is messing everything up at Ferrari.

"First of all, you’ve signed the wrong driver for next year. Hamilton is behind, he’s [Sainz] much better."

Sainz took advantage of Verstappen's early retirement in Melbourne last time out but had already overtaken his Red Bull counterpart.

The 29-year-old was overjoyed with his win, telling Sky Sports: "You cannot imagine how proud I am [of that race].

Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix last time out

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"Especially because you know how tough of a start of a year it’s been [for] me, with the non-renewal at the beginning, [then] putting together a very good pre-season testing and pre-season programme from my training, arriving to the first race [and getting a] podium.

"Now you say, ‘okay, I’m ready to fight this year’, [but then there was the] appendix, another low, and then suddenly you come back with uncertainty – am I going to be back or not?

"Then you come back and win. Life is sometimes really nice, really beautiful.

"You know, I’m still jobless for next year, so I guess this does good for me!"

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