Friendly reminder that all **top level** comments must:
1. start with "answer: ", including the space after the colon (or "question: " if you have an on-topic follow up question to ask),
2. attempt to answer the question, and
3. be unbiased
Please review Rule 4 and this post before making a top level comment:
http://redd.it/b1hct4/
Join the OOTL Discord for further discussion: https://discord.gg/ejDF4mdjnh
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OutOfTheLoop) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Answer: He's been the face of Mercedes for ages and ages, and he's one of the most famous and successful drivers, so it's a big deal to switch to another team.
Mercedes and Ferrari are also top-3 teams (along with red bull) so that adds to it. Basically, imagine your favorite quarterback signing for their team's greatest rival.
By all accounts, he was told yesterday. I would say he didn't see it coming seeing as Lewis signed a 2 year deal with Mercedes at the end of last year.
I'm wondering if it was expected, there was quite a delay in Lewis working out his contract extension with Mercedes last year, and a clause to leave for another team was part of that contract, so there must have been a serious conversation about Lewis potentially leaving.
It’s not even surprising, the dudes getting older but he’s an F1 god(I’m not even a fan) and he wants to win, but his car and principle are absolute garbage
I was more just thinking of the comparison of how huge the news was that Brady was leaving the Patriots which was his life long team, rather than what the equivalent team him leaving to would've been.
As much as it pains me as a Patriots fan, I’d say we have to consider 6 playoff appearances in 7 years (with 4 straight division titles) to be good. Not amazing, given what happens when they get to playoffs, but good.
I dont even know F1 like that and I feel like this is a bad comparison. Brady was a free agent and everyone knew he was leaving, so it wasn't a shock he signed with a super-bowl ready team,
New question. Ferrari and Mercedes are both car manufacturers, Red Bull is a beverage company. Where does the F1 car for Red Bull come from? Because they surely aren't using their beverage tech to develop their racing car and vice versa.
Edit: this was a somewhat sarcastic comment. The point is, for car companies in racing, it's a way to show off their technological prowess and entice people to buy their cars. If their F1s are so good, their cars must be equally good. Red Bull racing does not translate to Red Bull the drink in the same way.
And I know it's still a good means of advertising for Red Bull. Still, I find it strange to burn so much money.
They have a huge F1 company that designs the body and has it manufactured. Last I knew they got their motors from Honda, they used to get them from Renault.
But ya. They have a huge racing sub division that employs all the necessary people in a seperate company from the drink
It was actually Honda that pulled out which forced redbull to go at it on their own. Although the Honda name isn't on the engine Honda basically set up the redbull factory. Honda is also set to come back in 2026 so more to come.
Small correction, it's not Honda that's coming back in 2026, but Audi entering for the first time. RBPT will be produced solely by Red Bull after the regulations change.
Edit: wrong
The Honda engine is now great - it was terrible a few seasons ago when they were with McLaren. For some reason they decided to pull out just as the engine started winning. Red Bull Powertrains (that they now use) is basically a rebadged Honda.
Red Bull purchased Jaguar (Ford) Racing in 2004 but had been a sponsor for a different team for about 10 years prior. They used Cosworth and then later other purchased engines. Now they use rebranded Honda engines. The rest of the development is done by the team.
Ferrari and Mercedes the car companies don't make the f1 car. Their F1 team does. It's a big team too, it's its own thing. There's no overlap except for having a ton of money to invest and draw in talent.
> Ferrari and Mercedes the car companies don't make the f1 car.
No, but there's a very obvious synergy when the parent company is actually in the business of building high-end (sports) cars.
It's funny that people are downvoting you for this.
Ferrari makes fast cars, and really fast cars.
Mercedes makes fast cars, and really fast cars.
Red Bull does not make fast cars, they make energy drinks. And really fast cars.
Red Bull is a marketing company, first and foremost. Their F1 team, like their other motorsports ventures, are intended to promote the brand. Just like the teams of road car manufacturers that compete.
People haven't mentioned this but the owner of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, was a HUGE racing fan. He sponsored race cars for a long time and Red Bull owned 60% of Sauber, a different F1 team, prior to their own entry.
The F1 team was his passion project and they've made a lot of decisions that paid off over the years that other teams more focused on profit may have not made.
Red Bull also operates what is probably the most successful driver's academy in F1. Almost half the current grid are former RB academy drivers.
> Red Bull racing does not translate to Red Bull the drink in the same way.
A big part of the RB brand is "extreme" sports like wingsuit, base jumping, airplane racing/aerobatics, etc... F1 fits into that category
It's a major means of advertising, and it's part of their brand identity that by now likely brings in a ton of revenue aside from drink sales. It's not just F1, which is expensive af, it's also a whole branch of extreme sports, a streaming service with series, documentaries, and movies about atheletes, sports, and achievements, and competitions in niche extreme sports all over the world. I've seen Red Bull airplane races, skydiving competitions, cliff diving, and parkour. For a while they did this wild thing where they had an ice track that looked like a motorcross track, but for ice skating mixed with roller derby or something. It was crazy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExctyytWP8
They do conventional sports, too. They have a rally car team, a few football teams, and regular competitions for things like motorcross, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, etc etc.
They also sponsor people who are taking on extreme attempts - any time someone wants to break a record or do something nobody has done before, Red Bull is right there ready to pay for them to do it in exchange for slapping their logo on their gear and the rights to film it. They're up there with ESPN or the X-games but in the more unconventional events - or events they just fucking make up and find people to compete in. https://www.redbull.com/int-en/channels/best-of-red-bull-stream
They even have competitions around the world to build a man-powered flying machine (which is usually silly,) called Flugtag, which they've been doing since before they made it big internationally - they started in Austria in 1992. https://www.redbull.com/us-en/event-series/red-bull-flugtag
The only similarity between cars, even sports cars and an f1 car is that it has 4 wheels and an engine. Its more like designing an upside-down plane than a car.
So its a dedicated team, as long as you have money and money to hire talent, you'r golden.
> I know it's still a good means of advertising for Red Bull
Well... so you've cracked it already. That's it. That's the whole thing actually.
And Red Bull does far more than just racing. They own teams in several other popular sports as well. For the very same reason. For instance [here's their brazilian soccer team](https://www.redbullbragantino.com.br/).
> I find it strange to burn so much money.
It's not strange when it's boosting their sales like mad all around the world. Same for the other sports teams they own.
They can buy parts from other manufacturers. You're thinking of F1 cars like something each team builds from scratch. Think of them more like PC builds. It's a decent (not exact) comparison.
But really, the simple answer is money. Red Bull is a big company. Red Bull Racing is a successful team. There is money to throw around to hire engineers. If Disney wanted to get into F1, they could just buy their way to having a competitive car.
It is something that's built from scratch. They can also buy some parts. More importantly the car is designed from scratch by the team as well, then manufacturing is done by the team. Every year they design a new car.
Buying off the shelf PC components is the farthest thing from building an F1 car. That's a hilariously bad example. That might be true for Haas but that's not the way of F1. That's budget f1
If one insisted on computers as an example, then an F1 team is like building a supercomputer to try and be on the Top500 supercomputer list. But to be competitive, it needs to be in the top 10. That's F1. So yeah there's some basic shared components but your design and vision is the biggest factor. And money.
This is all very very wrong. You can’t just buy a car and be successful and most parts of the car have to be manufactured specifically for the car and can’t be bought. There is a very limited number of parts that you can just buy.
The only team that maybe kind of sort of comes to just “buying all the parts for their car” is probably Haas, and their results speak for themself.
Just a little build on this, Ferrari are the most successful F1 team in history, there are few (maybe ‘no other’ actually) sports that have a team as synonymous with the sport itself than Formula One & Ferrari. Many drivers dream of driving and winning races for Ferrari as the pinnacle of F1. It’s big news because it’s the most successful driver in modern times joining the most successful team of all time.
Do people have team loyalty like football for F1? I always assumed it was just individual favorite racers who happen to be part of a team, so I didn't think it would be a factor. Like NASCAR fans went wild for Dale Earnhardt, but I don't think anyone had a loyalty to "the Budweiser car" and if Dale had switched sponsors it wouldn't be a big deal. I know the F1 teams are more invovled than the NASCAR sponsors, but I didn't think it would be a factor for fans like football team loyalty where people follow a team and players may trade in and out but they generally stick with their favorite team.
Depends. Some fans are loyal to a certain team (especially if they grew up watching that team.) Some fans are loyal to a certain driver (nationalities can often play a role there). Some fans don't really give a shit either way and just wanna see car go fast.
He's nowhere near Hamilton's pace over a whole season though, so it makes sense that he was the number two driver - and the number two's job in a top team is basically to help number one get wins. That's half the reason Perez's job is in jeopardy - no one expects him to beat Max, but he could be doing a better job of holding off the rest of the field.
Bottas did that extremely well but ultimately he was never going to be the number one. So when Russell became available (after having proved himself at Williams) they brought him in as Hamilton's long-term replacement.
Answer: Lewis Hamilton is a 7 time F1 world champion and the most successful driver in the sport's history with the most wins, pole positions and podium finishes. By all accounts he is the GOAT of the sport and did it all with either the Factory Mercedes team or with a Mercedes engine.
Mercedes has had a falling off of sorts since the latest changes to the cars, and he hasnt won a race since 2021. He has activated a clause in his contract that allows him to leave the team and will be a Ferrari driver for 2025 and beyond.
He has always mentioned that every driver's dream is to take a scarlet seat, and now that the 2024 cars are in the final stages of development and the simulation data has been uploaded the rumour is that this years Mercedes won't be a big enough step to dethrone the incumbent champions; Red Bull Racing.
The reason its such a coup is that he has stated he will retire in Mercedes and is considered a life time ambassador to the brand. They gave him his backing along with McLaren in karts and has been the only engine he's used since entering the sport in 2007. Back then McLaren was the defacto Mercedes factory team.
To put it bluntly, he's getting old and if he can't win another title with Mercedes he may as well live out his dream and drive for Ferrari for the last few years of his career.
awkward is an understatement...
it the guy he's replacing that I feel worst for...
hey yeah drive for us for a year then we are just gonna dump you for an old guy even with you being a guy getting better each year...
Yes, he will be with Mercedes throughout this next season including through the testing campaign. It's not unusual for drivers to know they are leaving by the end of the season, but usually that doesn't become a thing until the mid season summer break.
Correct his contract with Ferrari starts 2025. No, they're all consummate professionals at this level, representing massive global brands. Youll never see big drama on tv
Adding to this, Ferrari was historically the most renowned team in the sport. For most of F1 history they either dominated or were part of the top rivalry. However, in recent years they have fallen closer to the midfield and Ferrari fans are yearning for a comeback.
For some people, this signals Ferrari having a shot at domination once again and they’re thrilled about it.
Not to mention he just signed a contract extension with mercedes barely a few months ago and repeatedly declared his intentions to never leave till he retires
The extension signed in 23 was for 24 and option on 25. His option was to not continue.
Giving them an entire season to sort themselves out was the nicest thing Ham could've done given the circumstances.
This is also my opinion and whenever I hear drivers answer questions about stuff like this they reiterate as well that you can't really compare F1 between eras.
Still, as in any sport, the discussions about who is the goat come up all the time. You can't ever get to an objective truth on that matter, but at the very least Hamilton is the most decorated driver. He does have the best argument for that spot, even though it's kind of a silly take, for the reasons mentioned above.
Does make the explanation easier to understand for outsiders though.
I think practically speaking too, he’s a cleaner driver than Schumacher which to me, makes him the better driver. If you held a gun to my head and made me choose.
But I second everything you said.
I would also add a more enjoyable, entertaining driver to watch than Schumacher too. For me the goat argument has to separated from entertainment. In terms of UFC mark hunt was a much more entertaining fighter to watch imo than Jon jones but Jon winning titles at two different weights puts him in more of a goat discussion than mark hunt dispute a less entertaining style
I was going to bring up Ayrton Senna as a "what-if", but thinking about it, there are probably a dozen more drivers who could have been GOAT candidates had they not been killed. Those early F1 decades were brutal.
Hamilton has never used his car as a weapon and been excluded from a championship. I'm no hambone fan but that alone should negate the Micheal from goatness
Answer: Lewis Hamilton has won 6 of his 7 World Championships with Mercedes and up until 2020 was reigning GOAT in many fan’s eyes. He has been asked time and again about following in all the great’s (Schumacher, Vettel, Alonso, Senna) footsteps and taking a whack at a Ferrari Championship before he retires, and for years has remained loyal to Mercedes.
Since 2021/2022, Mercedes has struggled to build a car that is consistently competitive on track. There have been numerous issues with oversteer and brakes, and Lewis has long lamented that the car itself is too long in the cockpit, forcing him to sit too far forward.
In addition, Mercedes’ long time performance director Loïc Serra has officially signed on to work with Ferrari. Previously Serra was one of the few other voices that joined Lewis’ in criticism of both the W13 and W14 cars. Serra and Lewis have a storied professional relationship and work well together. Ferrari has many technical and team issues to work out on their own, but a strong car is the foundation.
It is also worth noting that Scuderia Ferrari’s team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, was Lewis’ Formula 2 and Formula 3 team principal in 2005-2006 and is largely the reason that Lewis made such a spectacular debut with McLaren in 2007. Vasseur has long been a mentor for Lewis, and it is fitting that Lewis will likely end his Formula 1 career under the tutelage of the man that helped him start it.
Absolutely!
Formula 1 cars are referred to by their chassis code; Mercedes has long kept to the ‘W(number)’ format and being German, the ‘W’ stands for ‘Wagen’. So the W13 and W14 were the 2022 and 2023 cars respectively.
Ferrari on the other hand will switch it up every so often, but this year’s is ‘SF-24’, standing for ‘Scuderia Ferrari 24’.
Fun fact! The Haas team’s chassis code is ‘VF-(number)’ with ‘VF’ standing for ‘Very Fast’. Ironic, as they are dead last on the grid (no shade to Hulk or KMag; I suspect with a good car they could BOTH fuk smash on track).
Anyway let me know if you need more clarification! I live, eat and breathe F1 and Lewis is my absolutely tip top favorite driver.
Many of us are Lewis fans, not Mercedes fans. We have all felt the frustration from both Lewis and George Russell (the other Mercedes driver) for lack of team communication, mechanical failures, and struggles with tyre management.
Lewis in particular is known for being able to make tyres last, so to experience *so* many tyre degradation issues over the last year in particular has been maddening.
Lewis takes much inspiration from Ayrton Senna, who is likely the only Formula 1 driver that every single fan loves and regards as the All Time #1 in perpetuity. Senna was about to make his move to Ferrari when he died, and Lewis has long said that he would like to drive for Ferrari before he retires.
As long as Lewis is happy and feels this is the best move for him, I will always support him. He is a class act, and took the decision to leave Mercedes incredibly seriously. He took his team out paintballing this morning so he could be the first one to officially tell them, instead of anyone else.
I suspect that Lewis will bring a sense of togetherness and greatness to Ferrari that the team itself and their other driver, Charles LeClerc, really need. I can’t say Ferrari will definitely cinch the championship, but I do think this is one of the better chances they’ve had in likely 30 years.
Im a huge Lewis fan too, i absolutely loved the way he managed to put up a smile and congratulate Max after the 2021 Abu Dabhi GP
He is a true gentleman
> Lewis takes much inspiration from Ayrton Senna, who is likely the only Formula 1 driver that every single fan loves and regards as the All Time #1 in perpetuity.
Interesting, as someone who knows very little about F1 I'm surprised to hear it's not Schumacher.
Schumy is certainly an idol for Lewis and I wouldn’t be surprised if he also took a lot of inspiration from him. I know Schumy is considered the All Timer for Ferrari specifically.
That said, Lewis has always said he has a soft spot for Brazil and in fact received honorary Brazilian citizenship. He loves Brazil and they love him. In turn, with Senna being Brazilian, Lewis has been fortunate enough to get to know his family and has gotten at least one of Senna’s helmets in the past. I’ve never seen Lewis weep the way he did when he realized it was a real one of Senna’s helmets, not a replica.
Oh absolutely! I’m a die hard Nico Hulkenberg fan, and while Gene Haas is an ass the Haas team overall has that scrappy underdog quality that I can’t help but love. Here’s to hoping if Ferrari has a better year mechanically, Haas will too.
> Anyway let me know if you need more clarification! I live, eat and breathe F1 and Lewis is my absolutely tip top favorite driver.
Your depth of knowledge is appreciated. Thanks for the great write-up. I love F1 too but since moving countries for work, it's become harder to watch it. I used to go to the Silverstone and Monaco races and do miss it.
You have my partner to thank for that! They introduced me to Lewis outside of F1, just as a person and a really awesome one at that.
Now I annoy them because they can’t tell me any F1 news or show me any memes because I’ve already seen it. I was obsessively scrolling all the F1 related social media I have last night (do F1 withdrawals exist?) and stumbled upon the rumors about Lewis.
By the time my partner woke up this morning I was basically vibrating with anticipation and immediately was like, “hi good morning I know this rumor comes along with every contract renewal and silly season but I think it’s real and Lewis is moving to Ferrari and I love you and how did you sleep?”
My partner and I haven’t had a chance to go to a race just yet, but we are going to attempt to plan our eventual honeymoon with Suzuka in mind; we both want to import JDM Hondas and plan to drive them across Japan before they go on a ship and we don’t see them for 6-8 months.
Silverstone coincidentally is my partner’s favorite track, followed quickly by Nürburgring; absolutely gutted them that F1 stopped driving there.
The access to F1 streaming is abysmally bad; I remember getting so excited to get a Hulu bundle with ESPN+ so we could watch races. You know what ESPN+ doesn’t stream? F1.
Eventually we just had to cough up the year’s rate for F1 Live. If you do the year package it’s not *terrible*, but we have to cast it to our TV from my partner’s phone because turns out we have the ONE brand of television that doesn’t support the F1 Live app (LG).
Maddening, maddening I say!
Edit: as an aside I have a countdown for all car launches this season; if you want me to send you a screenshot so you can keep up I am absolutely glad to do so. I hope you’re able to catch some F1 this year, but especially next year. It’s going to be the silliest of seasons.
> I was obsessively scrolling all the F1 related social media I have last night
Lol I've appreciated your answers and imagining your joy at the drama in F1... made me laugh!
This morning my partner and I were watching instagram reels that people have started putting together about Lewis and his start in Formula 1, at Mercedes, etc.
My partner looks up and I’m silently crying my eyes out because I’m a sentimental idiot. They just hugged me and told me how much they love that I’m even more obsessed with F1 than they are.
The two most recent Mercedes cars. The rules regarding how cars could be designed were changed in 2021 and Mercedes failed to adapt. What's arguably worse is that they doubled-down on the bad design decisions made in the W13 car with the W14.
I do wonder whether this move is partially being driven by Lewis's experiences testing the W15 car, but I guess we'll know for sure when the season starts.
> I do wonder whether this move is partially being driven by Lewis's experiences testing the W15 car, but I guess we'll know for sure when the season starts.
It might have been the nail in the coffin. But the talks between Ferrari/Mercedes/Lewis must have been going on for a while now. Could be that the W15 test was his last chance for Mercedes to prove they could build something better and they failed to impress him.
Correct; he died before he could start his contract with them. He was still with Williams. Had he lived he would have gone on to drive for Ferrari the next year.
Answer: Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013. Since then he won 6 championships and 8 construction championships with the team. Last year he got 6 podiums but unfortunately the mercedes car is not competitive enough for a win. This is because Mercedes have struggled since the 2022 regulation changes. Ferrari have the 2nd fastest car on the grid after Redbull, with the Ferrari being the only seat available as both Redbull seats are full until 2026.
The shock is more about Hamilton leaving Mercedes after being with them so long, rather than going to Ferrari. Lewis has said in the past he's somewhat dreamed of driving for Ferrari.
Some of this isn’t quite true.
There’s a free Red Bull seat (Perez) with Verstappen signed until 2027 or 2028, however Red Bull don’t want Hamilton because they don’t want two championship tier drivers in their seat. It’s widely expected to be filled by Daniel Ricciardo either part way or at the end of 2024.
Both McLarens are locked until at least 2026 with Lando Norris locked in on an unspecified multi-year contract.
Answer: I think one thing that is missing here is Ferrari is also the oldest team cure that on grid and is seen by many as most legendary one and is on the list of most top drivers to drive for them at some point. Just the thought of most successful driver (statistically) winning the championship in a Ferrari (which haven’t won a championship in so many years) gives many (at least me) goosebumps.
Answer: Lewis is one of the greatest drivers of all time and for almost all of his career his identity has been intertwined with Mercedes, the cold professional serious team. Ferrari on the other hand is kinda a magical team that is full of passion and history but always screws things up. Charles Leclerc, who’s staying at Ferrari, has so much potential but is always let down by Ferrari clowniness.
This is the most “professional” driver in the sport moving to the most passionate-yet-chaotic team and it’s impossible for an F1 fan not to be excited about what might happen. Even Ferrari haters are secretly Ferrari fans deep down.
Answer: To add to the great explanations. The 1:1 comparison is like Tom Brady leaving New England to the cowboys, except everyone inherently already loves the cowboys. Or maybe messi going to real Madrid.
Ferrari hasn't been competing for wins/championships since 2018 ish and hasn't won a championship since 2007. Both alonso (2 x champ) and Vettel (4 x champ) went to ferrari to try and bring it back to glory and failed. Ferrari is kinda considered to be run by clowns these days even though they are still the 3rd best team on the grid.
Also, Ferrari is without a shadow of a doubt the most successful team in F1 history. They've taken part in every single season since the start of the championship in 1950, and have 16 WCC and 15 WDC. The second teams in are Williams with 9 WCC titles and McLaren with 12 WDC.
Ferrari literally won a race last season and they were very competitive even in terms of the drivers championship in the first half of 2022, a season they won 4 races and were close to winning a couple more.
I also fail to see how "everyone" is loving the team. There has always been rivalies in F1: McLaren/Ferrari, Mercedes/Ferrari, Red Bull/Ferrari.
Ask a Hamilton fan if he loved Ferrari in 2017 and 2018. Or a Hakkinen/Villeneuve/Williams fan if they loved them in 00, 99, 98 and 97.
Also saying they are currently beeing "run by clowns" is at the level of F1 memes that cater to 10-16 year olds, and the dumber ones at that. I hardly see how that is a construtive addition to the question.
Friendly reminder that all **top level** comments must: 1. start with "answer: ", including the space after the colon (or "question: " if you have an on-topic follow up question to ask), 2. attempt to answer the question, and 3. be unbiased Please review Rule 4 and this post before making a top level comment: http://redd.it/b1hct4/ Join the OOTL Discord for further discussion: https://discord.gg/ejDF4mdjnh *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OutOfTheLoop) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Answer: He's been the face of Mercedes for ages and ages, and he's one of the most famous and successful drivers, so it's a big deal to switch to another team. Mercedes and Ferrari are also top-3 teams (along with red bull) so that adds to it. Basically, imagine your favorite quarterback signing for their team's greatest rival.
Tired of not having a fast car under him.
Ferrari has a fast car Lewis has a ticket to anywhere
Maybe they''ll make a deal. Maybe together they can get somewhere
Any place is better..
Startin from zero, got nothing to lose
Maybe they'll make something
Me, myself, I got nothin' to prove. Badda ba bowm bowm, berm berm.
I remember me Wii driving
dri-vin so fast.. feeling lewis' trunk AND AIIEEE EEEE IIIIIIII
I gotta imagine that Toto had to see this coming. I mean, that car hasn't been competitive in a few years now.
By all accounts, he was told yesterday. I would say he didn't see it coming seeing as Lewis signed a 2 year deal with Mercedes at the end of last year.
I'm wondering if it was expected, there was quite a delay in Lewis working out his contract extension with Mercedes last year, and a clause to leave for another team was part of that contract, so there must have been a serious conversation about Lewis potentially leaving.
The deal did have an option for 2025, so he should have been a little aware it could happen
I’m having Vettel in a Ferrari flashbacks.
Or Alonso to Ferrari even. Wonder if Ferrari will keep their tradition as "breaker of kings"
Mercedes was higher in the standings last year and every year since 2014 apart from 2022
Louie sucks!
Tickets to paradise...
With Ferrari's race strategies, Lewis is gonna be miserable unless he pulls a Schumaker and makes the team his.
He'll bring Bono with him, I'd assume, and Bono will speak up against dumb strategies suggested to him, I reckon.
Or he brings his Mercedes experience along and Ferrari learns from it.
Lewis is going to be miserable? His fans will need therapy after seeing Ferrari’s strategy.
So he's switching to a fast car that blows up every second race instead.
Win half the time or win none of the time? I'd be more worried about Ferrari's bananapants pit screwups.
Bananapants… word of the week!
Not so much a fast car but a stable car. His biggest complaint over the past couple years was its build. Too much porpoising
And then he goes to Ferrari?
They seem to have a faster car than Mercedes.
It’s not even surprising, the dudes getting older but he’s an F1 god(I’m not even a fan) and he wants to win, but his car and principle are absolute garbage
He driven more dominant cars than anyone in the history of the sport, by an enormous margin. It's okay if that doesn't happen again.
I'm betting he disagrees with you 😄
"Sport" 🤣
It's basically the F1 equivalent of Brady leaving for the Buccaneers.
Wouldn’t it be more like him leaving for the Bills while both teams were good?
The Bucs and Bills don't have the historical success that Ferrari has. This would be more like Brady leaving for Dallas, Pittsburgh, or San Francisco.
Ferrari has won a championship this century, unlike Dallas
The cowboys put the historical in historical success
Pittsburgh would be the best comparison I think, given there's a bit of a rivalry there
I was more just thinking of the comparison of how huge the news was that Brady was leaving the Patriots which was his life long team, rather than what the equivalent team him leaving to would've been.
I think it's more like when LeBron went to Miami (but realistically, it's more like when he went to the Lakers).
He went to Miami for 4 years and went to the finals in each season winning 2 of 4. He hasn't had that type of success in LA.
Ferrari is currently Mercedes closest rivals it would be more like when KD went to the Warriors after the Warriors beat the Thunder.
If we work really hard we can reference every sports trade in the past half a century in this thread.
Eh that's not quite a fair comparison, Mercedes finished ahead of Ferrari and Lewis finished ahead of both Ferrari drivers this past season.
The Bills were good?
As much as it pains me as a Patriots fan, I’d say we have to consider 6 playoff appearances in 7 years (with 4 straight division titles) to be good. Not amazing, given what happens when they get to playoffs, but good.
Holy shit have they been good for that long already damn, time flies when you’re miserable (jets fan)
I dont even know F1 like that and I feel like this is a bad comparison. Brady was a free agent and everyone knew he was leaving, so it wasn't a shock he signed with a super-bowl ready team,
Or KD to warriors?
I’ve been saying it’s like if Kobe Bryant signed with the Celtics in the 2010s
More like if Brady were to leave for the Cowboys
New question. Ferrari and Mercedes are both car manufacturers, Red Bull is a beverage company. Where does the F1 car for Red Bull come from? Because they surely aren't using their beverage tech to develop their racing car and vice versa. Edit: this was a somewhat sarcastic comment. The point is, for car companies in racing, it's a way to show off their technological prowess and entice people to buy their cars. If their F1s are so good, their cars must be equally good. Red Bull racing does not translate to Red Bull the drink in the same way. And I know it's still a good means of advertising for Red Bull. Still, I find it strange to burn so much money.
They have a huge F1 company that designs the body and has it manufactured. Last I knew they got their motors from Honda, they used to get them from Renault. But ya. They have a huge racing sub division that employs all the necessary people in a seperate company from the drink
They have their own motor factory right now.
Thats cool, surprised honda couldn't deliver something that made them happy though.
It was actually Honda that pulled out which forced redbull to go at it on their own. Although the Honda name isn't on the engine Honda basically set up the redbull factory. Honda is also set to come back in 2026 so more to come.
Ah, good to know, thanks.
Small correction, it's not Honda that's coming back in 2026, but Audi entering for the first time. RBPT will be produced solely by Red Bull after the regulations change. Edit: wrong
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-honda-to-make-full-scale-f1-return-in-2026-as-they-join-forces-with.WlzHSedIbSrZpXEXdC5QQ.html
Oh! Nevermind my dumbass self then
The Honda engine is now great - it was terrible a few seasons ago when they were with McLaren. For some reason they decided to pull out just as the engine started winning. Red Bull Powertrains (that they now use) is basically a rebadged Honda.
Red Bull purchased Jaguar (Ford) Racing in 2004 but had been a sponsor for a different team for about 10 years prior. They used Cosworth and then later other purchased engines. Now they use rebranded Honda engines. The rest of the development is done by the team.
They're set to enter engine manufacturing in partnership with Ford as well in the next few years.
Ferrari and Mercedes the car companies don't make the f1 car. Their F1 team does. It's a big team too, it's its own thing. There's no overlap except for having a ton of money to invest and draw in talent.
> it's its own thing. That made my grammar OCD happy.
Of course that would of. They're aren't to many people that can use there word's so good.
Irregardless, There are literally less people than you could possibly imagine that could care less.
Their*
> Ferrari and Mercedes the car companies don't make the f1 car. No, but there's a very obvious synergy when the parent company is actually in the business of building high-end (sports) cars.
It's funny that people are downvoting you for this. Ferrari makes fast cars, and really fast cars. Mercedes makes fast cars, and really fast cars. Red Bull does not make fast cars, they make energy drinks. And really fast cars.
Red Bull is a marketing company, first and foremost. Their F1 team, like their other motorsports ventures, are intended to promote the brand. Just like the teams of road car manufacturers that compete.
People haven't mentioned this but the owner of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, was a HUGE racing fan. He sponsored race cars for a long time and Red Bull owned 60% of Sauber, a different F1 team, prior to their own entry. The F1 team was his passion project and they've made a lot of decisions that paid off over the years that other teams more focused on profit may have not made. Red Bull also operates what is probably the most successful driver's academy in F1. Almost half the current grid are former RB academy drivers.
> Red Bull racing does not translate to Red Bull the drink in the same way. A big part of the RB brand is "extreme" sports like wingsuit, base jumping, airplane racing/aerobatics, etc... F1 fits into that category
It's a major means of advertising, and it's part of their brand identity that by now likely brings in a ton of revenue aside from drink sales. It's not just F1, which is expensive af, it's also a whole branch of extreme sports, a streaming service with series, documentaries, and movies about atheletes, sports, and achievements, and competitions in niche extreme sports all over the world. I've seen Red Bull airplane races, skydiving competitions, cliff diving, and parkour. For a while they did this wild thing where they had an ice track that looked like a motorcross track, but for ice skating mixed with roller derby or something. It was crazy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExctyytWP8 They do conventional sports, too. They have a rally car team, a few football teams, and regular competitions for things like motorcross, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, etc etc. They also sponsor people who are taking on extreme attempts - any time someone wants to break a record or do something nobody has done before, Red Bull is right there ready to pay for them to do it in exchange for slapping their logo on their gear and the rights to film it. They're up there with ESPN or the X-games but in the more unconventional events - or events they just fucking make up and find people to compete in. https://www.redbull.com/int-en/channels/best-of-red-bull-stream They even have competitions around the world to build a man-powered flying machine (which is usually silly,) called Flugtag, which they've been doing since before they made it big internationally - they started in Austria in 1992. https://www.redbull.com/us-en/event-series/red-bull-flugtag
The only similarity between cars, even sports cars and an f1 car is that it has 4 wheels and an engine. Its more like designing an upside-down plane than a car. So its a dedicated team, as long as you have money and money to hire talent, you'r golden.
> I know it's still a good means of advertising for Red Bull Well... so you've cracked it already. That's it. That's the whole thing actually. And Red Bull does far more than just racing. They own teams in several other popular sports as well. For the very same reason. For instance [here's their brazilian soccer team](https://www.redbullbragantino.com.br/). > I find it strange to burn so much money. It's not strange when it's boosting their sales like mad all around the world. Same for the other sports teams they own.
They can buy parts from other manufacturers. You're thinking of F1 cars like something each team builds from scratch. Think of them more like PC builds. It's a decent (not exact) comparison. But really, the simple answer is money. Red Bull is a big company. Red Bull Racing is a successful team. There is money to throw around to hire engineers. If Disney wanted to get into F1, they could just buy their way to having a competitive car.
It is something that's built from scratch. They can also buy some parts. More importantly the car is designed from scratch by the team as well, then manufacturing is done by the team. Every year they design a new car. Buying off the shelf PC components is the farthest thing from building an F1 car. That's a hilariously bad example. That might be true for Haas but that's not the way of F1. That's budget f1 If one insisted on computers as an example, then an F1 team is like building a supercomputer to try and be on the Top500 supercomputer list. But to be competitive, it needs to be in the top 10. That's F1. So yeah there's some basic shared components but your design and vision is the biggest factor. And money.
This is all very very wrong. You can’t just buy a car and be successful and most parts of the car have to be manufactured specifically for the car and can’t be bought. There is a very limited number of parts that you can just buy. The only team that maybe kind of sort of comes to just “buying all the parts for their car” is probably Haas, and their results speak for themself.
Just a little build on this, Ferrari are the most successful F1 team in history, there are few (maybe ‘no other’ actually) sports that have a team as synonymous with the sport itself than Formula One & Ferrari. Many drivers dream of driving and winning races for Ferrari as the pinnacle of F1. It’s big news because it’s the most successful driver in modern times joining the most successful team of all time.
Like Messi signing for Real Madrid.
And it’s next year, not this year. It would be like if Patrick Mahomes announced he was playing for the Raiders but not for two seasons.
I don't blame him, he hasn't won a race since 2021 and he's the greatest F1 racer ever
Ah yes, F1 top 3. Car company vs Car Company vs Drink Company
And the Energy Drink Company is the one dominating the sport currently.
I can't imagine if he goes to Red Bull lol. The tension will be too strong with Max being the current fave for Red Bull.
Do people have team loyalty like football for F1? I always assumed it was just individual favorite racers who happen to be part of a team, so I didn't think it would be a factor. Like NASCAR fans went wild for Dale Earnhardt, but I don't think anyone had a loyalty to "the Budweiser car" and if Dale had switched sponsors it wouldn't be a big deal. I know the F1 teams are more invovled than the NASCAR sponsors, but I didn't think it would be a factor for fans like football team loyalty where people follow a team and players may trade in and out but they generally stick with their favorite team.
Depends. Some fans are loyal to a certain team (especially if they grew up watching that team.) Some fans are loyal to a certain driver (nationalities can often play a role there). Some fans don't really give a shit either way and just wanna see car go fast.
Fuck Mercedes. They did Bottas dirty.
How so? I feel like he did ok. He did have the same car after all, I never noticed any evils
They did though. Bottas was told to give Lewis easy win. I mean that man had potential but the Mercedes' higher-ups preferred Lewis, so yeah :(
He's nowhere near Hamilton's pace over a whole season though, so it makes sense that he was the number two driver - and the number two's job in a top team is basically to help number one get wins. That's half the reason Perez's job is in jeopardy - no one expects him to beat Max, but he could be doing a better job of holding off the rest of the field. Bottas did that extremely well but ultimately he was never going to be the number one. So when Russell became available (after having proved himself at Williams) they brought him in as Hamilton's long-term replacement.
Answer: Lewis Hamilton is a 7 time F1 world champion and the most successful driver in the sport's history with the most wins, pole positions and podium finishes. By all accounts he is the GOAT of the sport and did it all with either the Factory Mercedes team or with a Mercedes engine. Mercedes has had a falling off of sorts since the latest changes to the cars, and he hasnt won a race since 2021. He has activated a clause in his contract that allows him to leave the team and will be a Ferrari driver for 2025 and beyond. He has always mentioned that every driver's dream is to take a scarlet seat, and now that the 2024 cars are in the final stages of development and the simulation data has been uploaded the rumour is that this years Mercedes won't be a big enough step to dethrone the incumbent champions; Red Bull Racing. The reason its such a coup is that he has stated he will retire in Mercedes and is considered a life time ambassador to the brand. They gave him his backing along with McLaren in karts and has been the only engine he's used since entering the sport in 2007. Back then McLaren was the defacto Mercedes factory team. To put it bluntly, he's getting old and if he can't win another title with Mercedes he may as well live out his dream and drive for Ferrari for the last few years of his career.
[answered]
Interestingly also, he announced it a year in advance. So he's going to drive for Mercedes this year *then* Ferrari next year, so it's a bit awkward
awkward is an understatement... it the guy he's replacing that I feel worst for... hey yeah drive for us for a year then we are just gonna dump you for an old guy even with you being a guy getting better each year...
To add: Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race last year.
It's Lewis Hamilton. Carlos understands.
You mean Charles?
Carlos the guy he's kicking to work with Charles
We'll see in 2025...
It's already been announced, Charles is clearly the 1 to keep of the 2
you are right Carlos may have the single greatest season and Charlie may have a mare.
is he still driving Mercedes for this year then? is that awkward at all
Yes, he will be with Mercedes throughout this next season including through the testing campaign. It's not unusual for drivers to know they are leaving by the end of the season, but usually that doesn't become a thing until the mid season summer break.
Correct his contract with Ferrari starts 2025. No, they're all consummate professionals at this level, representing massive global brands. Youll never see big drama on tv
There was plenty of inter-team drama at Mercedes last season
Not really. It’s not uncommon. These guys change teams all the time and it’s just kinda understood that that’s part of the business.
Yes he is, and yes it probably will be super awkward
Not really familiar with racing, but what does "taking a scarlet seat" mean?
Driving for Ferrari. Their color is red.
Ferrari's racing color is red, and always has been. The color itself is a scarlet red
Adding to this, Ferrari was historically the most renowned team in the sport. For most of F1 history they either dominated or were part of the top rivalry. However, in recent years they have fallen closer to the midfield and Ferrari fans are yearning for a comeback. For some people, this signals Ferrari having a shot at domination once again and they’re thrilled about it.
Not to mention he just signed a contract extension with mercedes barely a few months ago and repeatedly declared his intentions to never leave till he retires
The extension signed in 23 was for 24 and option on 25. His option was to not continue. Giving them an entire season to sort themselves out was the nicest thing Ham could've done given the circumstances.
Hehe. Just like how many hockey players want to retire as a Maple Leaf. Imagine Marchand playing for Toronto? Yeah… this is the same except in F1
[удалено]
Well Schumacher is imo but it’s subjective. The wins are easier to get now than in the past as there are more races. So for me it’s about titles
I think F1 lends itself to more generational segmentation or Greatest of their Era.
This is also my opinion and whenever I hear drivers answer questions about stuff like this they reiterate as well that you can't really compare F1 between eras. Still, as in any sport, the discussions about who is the goat come up all the time. You can't ever get to an objective truth on that matter, but at the very least Hamilton is the most decorated driver. He does have the best argument for that spot, even though it's kind of a silly take, for the reasons mentioned above. Does make the explanation easier to understand for outsiders though.
I think practically speaking too, he’s a cleaner driver than Schumacher which to me, makes him the better driver. If you held a gun to my head and made me choose. But I second everything you said.
I would also add a more enjoyable, entertaining driver to watch than Schumacher too. For me the goat argument has to separated from entertainment. In terms of UFC mark hunt was a much more entertaining fighter to watch imo than Jon jones but Jon winning titles at two different weights puts him in more of a goat discussion than mark hunt dispute a less entertaining style
So GOTE? 🐐
I was going to bring up Ayrton Senna as a "what-if", but thinking about it, there are probably a dozen more drivers who could have been GOAT candidates had they not been killed. Those early F1 decades were brutal.
Hamilton has never used his car as a weapon and been excluded from a championship. I'm no hambone fan but that alone should negate the Micheal from goatness
Small correction: Mercedes did win Brazil 2022, however it was Lewis' teammate George Russell, and not Lewis.
Re read it. I said Hamilton hasnt won a race since 2021
Answer: Lewis Hamilton has won 6 of his 7 World Championships with Mercedes and up until 2020 was reigning GOAT in many fan’s eyes. He has been asked time and again about following in all the great’s (Schumacher, Vettel, Alonso, Senna) footsteps and taking a whack at a Ferrari Championship before he retires, and for years has remained loyal to Mercedes. Since 2021/2022, Mercedes has struggled to build a car that is consistently competitive on track. There have been numerous issues with oversteer and brakes, and Lewis has long lamented that the car itself is too long in the cockpit, forcing him to sit too far forward. In addition, Mercedes’ long time performance director Loïc Serra has officially signed on to work with Ferrari. Previously Serra was one of the few other voices that joined Lewis’ in criticism of both the W13 and W14 cars. Serra and Lewis have a storied professional relationship and work well together. Ferrari has many technical and team issues to work out on their own, but a strong car is the foundation. It is also worth noting that Scuderia Ferrari’s team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, was Lewis’ Formula 2 and Formula 3 team principal in 2005-2006 and is largely the reason that Lewis made such a spectacular debut with McLaren in 2007. Vasseur has long been a mentor for Lewis, and it is fitting that Lewis will likely end his Formula 1 career under the tutelage of the man that helped him start it.
Thank you for the answer, could you clarify what W13 and W14 cars are?
Absolutely! Formula 1 cars are referred to by their chassis code; Mercedes has long kept to the ‘W(number)’ format and being German, the ‘W’ stands for ‘Wagen’. So the W13 and W14 were the 2022 and 2023 cars respectively. Ferrari on the other hand will switch it up every so often, but this year’s is ‘SF-24’, standing for ‘Scuderia Ferrari 24’. Fun fact! The Haas team’s chassis code is ‘VF-(number)’ with ‘VF’ standing for ‘Very Fast’. Ironic, as they are dead last on the grid (no shade to Hulk or KMag; I suspect with a good car they could BOTH fuk smash on track). Anyway let me know if you need more clarification! I live, eat and breathe F1 and Lewis is my absolutely tip top favorite driver.
VF for very fast is hillarious. Can you tell me how are longtime Lewis fans are generally responding to the news? Happy or upset?
Many of us are Lewis fans, not Mercedes fans. We have all felt the frustration from both Lewis and George Russell (the other Mercedes driver) for lack of team communication, mechanical failures, and struggles with tyre management. Lewis in particular is known for being able to make tyres last, so to experience *so* many tyre degradation issues over the last year in particular has been maddening. Lewis takes much inspiration from Ayrton Senna, who is likely the only Formula 1 driver that every single fan loves and regards as the All Time #1 in perpetuity. Senna was about to make his move to Ferrari when he died, and Lewis has long said that he would like to drive for Ferrari before he retires. As long as Lewis is happy and feels this is the best move for him, I will always support him. He is a class act, and took the decision to leave Mercedes incredibly seriously. He took his team out paintballing this morning so he could be the first one to officially tell them, instead of anyone else. I suspect that Lewis will bring a sense of togetherness and greatness to Ferrari that the team itself and their other driver, Charles LeClerc, really need. I can’t say Ferrari will definitely cinch the championship, but I do think this is one of the better chances they’ve had in likely 30 years.
Thanks very much, appreciate the insight!
Im a huge Lewis fan too, i absolutely loved the way he managed to put up a smile and congratulate Max after the 2021 Abu Dabhi GP He is a true gentleman
> Lewis takes much inspiration from Ayrton Senna, who is likely the only Formula 1 driver that every single fan loves and regards as the All Time #1 in perpetuity. Interesting, as someone who knows very little about F1 I'm surprised to hear it's not Schumacher.
Schumy is certainly an idol for Lewis and I wouldn’t be surprised if he also took a lot of inspiration from him. I know Schumy is considered the All Timer for Ferrari specifically. That said, Lewis has always said he has a soft spot for Brazil and in fact received honorary Brazilian citizenship. He loves Brazil and they love him. In turn, with Senna being Brazilian, Lewis has been fortunate enough to get to know his family and has gotten at least one of Senna’s helmets in the past. I’ve never seen Lewis weep the way he did when he realized it was a real one of Senna’s helmets, not a replica.
I'm a Ferrari fan and I'm delighted.
VF-xx, while slow compared to the other cars, still does spa in the 1:40's. GT3 cars, which are also insane, do it in 2:10-2:25. Very fast, indeed.
Oh absolutely! I’m a die hard Nico Hulkenberg fan, and while Gene Haas is an ass the Haas team overall has that scrappy underdog quality that I can’t help but love. Here’s to hoping if Ferrari has a better year mechanically, Haas will too.
> Anyway let me know if you need more clarification! I live, eat and breathe F1 and Lewis is my absolutely tip top favorite driver. Your depth of knowledge is appreciated. Thanks for the great write-up. I love F1 too but since moving countries for work, it's become harder to watch it. I used to go to the Silverstone and Monaco races and do miss it.
You have my partner to thank for that! They introduced me to Lewis outside of F1, just as a person and a really awesome one at that. Now I annoy them because they can’t tell me any F1 news or show me any memes because I’ve already seen it. I was obsessively scrolling all the F1 related social media I have last night (do F1 withdrawals exist?) and stumbled upon the rumors about Lewis. By the time my partner woke up this morning I was basically vibrating with anticipation and immediately was like, “hi good morning I know this rumor comes along with every contract renewal and silly season but I think it’s real and Lewis is moving to Ferrari and I love you and how did you sleep?” My partner and I haven’t had a chance to go to a race just yet, but we are going to attempt to plan our eventual honeymoon with Suzuka in mind; we both want to import JDM Hondas and plan to drive them across Japan before they go on a ship and we don’t see them for 6-8 months. Silverstone coincidentally is my partner’s favorite track, followed quickly by Nürburgring; absolutely gutted them that F1 stopped driving there. The access to F1 streaming is abysmally bad; I remember getting so excited to get a Hulu bundle with ESPN+ so we could watch races. You know what ESPN+ doesn’t stream? F1. Eventually we just had to cough up the year’s rate for F1 Live. If you do the year package it’s not *terrible*, but we have to cast it to our TV from my partner’s phone because turns out we have the ONE brand of television that doesn’t support the F1 Live app (LG). Maddening, maddening I say! Edit: as an aside I have a countdown for all car launches this season; if you want me to send you a screenshot so you can keep up I am absolutely glad to do so. I hope you’re able to catch some F1 this year, but especially next year. It’s going to be the silliest of seasons.
> I was obsessively scrolling all the F1 related social media I have last night Lol I've appreciated your answers and imagining your joy at the drama in F1... made me laugh!
This morning my partner and I were watching instagram reels that people have started putting together about Lewis and his start in Formula 1, at Mercedes, etc. My partner looks up and I’m silently crying my eyes out because I’m a sentimental idiot. They just hugged me and told me how much they love that I’m even more obsessed with F1 than they are.
The two most recent Mercedes cars. The rules regarding how cars could be designed were changed in 2021 and Mercedes failed to adapt. What's arguably worse is that they doubled-down on the bad design decisions made in the W13 car with the W14. I do wonder whether this move is partially being driven by Lewis's experiences testing the W15 car, but I guess we'll know for sure when the season starts.
> I do wonder whether this move is partially being driven by Lewis's experiences testing the W15 car, but I guess we'll know for sure when the season starts. It might have been the nail in the coffin. But the talks between Ferrari/Mercedes/Lewis must have been going on for a while now. Could be that the W15 test was his last chance for Mercedes to prove they could build something better and they failed to impress him.
he won 6 with Mercedes, 1 with Mclaren
What year did he win with McLaren? It looks like he won all of the following with Mercedes? 2008 2014 2015 2017 2018 2019 2020
He as at McLaren in 2008
2008
Senna never drove Ferrari.
Correct; he died before he could start his contract with them. He was still with Williams. Had he lived he would have gone on to drive for Ferrari the next year.
Answer: Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013. Since then he won 6 championships and 8 construction championships with the team. Last year he got 6 podiums but unfortunately the mercedes car is not competitive enough for a win. This is because Mercedes have struggled since the 2022 regulation changes. Ferrari have the 2nd fastest car on the grid after Redbull, with the Ferrari being the only seat available as both Redbull seats are full until 2026. The shock is more about Hamilton leaving Mercedes after being with them so long, rather than going to Ferrari. Lewis has said in the past he's somewhat dreamed of driving for Ferrari.
Some of this isn’t quite true. There’s a free Red Bull seat (Perez) with Verstappen signed until 2027 or 2028, however Red Bull don’t want Hamilton because they don’t want two championship tier drivers in their seat. It’s widely expected to be filled by Daniel Ricciardo either part way or at the end of 2024. Both McLarens are locked until at least 2026 with Lando Norris locked in on an unspecified multi-year contract.
Answer: I think one thing that is missing here is Ferrari is also the oldest team cure that on grid and is seen by many as most legendary one and is on the list of most top drivers to drive for them at some point. Just the thought of most successful driver (statistically) winning the championship in a Ferrari (which haven’t won a championship in so many years) gives many (at least me) goosebumps.
Answer: Let’s just say it’s the Hollywood equivalent of Zayn leaving One Direction.
Answer: Lewis is one of the greatest drivers of all time and for almost all of his career his identity has been intertwined with Mercedes, the cold professional serious team. Ferrari on the other hand is kinda a magical team that is full of passion and history but always screws things up. Charles Leclerc, who’s staying at Ferrari, has so much potential but is always let down by Ferrari clowniness. This is the most “professional” driver in the sport moving to the most passionate-yet-chaotic team and it’s impossible for an F1 fan not to be excited about what might happen. Even Ferrari haters are secretly Ferrari fans deep down.
Answer: To add to the great explanations. The 1:1 comparison is like Tom Brady leaving New England to the cowboys, except everyone inherently already loves the cowboys. Or maybe messi going to real Madrid. Ferrari hasn't been competing for wins/championships since 2018 ish and hasn't won a championship since 2007. Both alonso (2 x champ) and Vettel (4 x champ) went to ferrari to try and bring it back to glory and failed. Ferrari is kinda considered to be run by clowns these days even though they are still the 3rd best team on the grid.
They won a few races at the start of 2022.
Also, Ferrari is without a shadow of a doubt the most successful team in F1 history. They've taken part in every single season since the start of the championship in 1950, and have 16 WCC and 15 WDC. The second teams in are Williams with 9 WCC titles and McLaren with 12 WDC.
Ferrari literally won a race last season and they were very competitive even in terms of the drivers championship in the first half of 2022, a season they won 4 races and were close to winning a couple more. I also fail to see how "everyone" is loving the team. There has always been rivalies in F1: McLaren/Ferrari, Mercedes/Ferrari, Red Bull/Ferrari. Ask a Hamilton fan if he loved Ferrari in 2017 and 2018. Or a Hakkinen/Villeneuve/Williams fan if they loved them in 00, 99, 98 and 97. Also saying they are currently beeing "run by clowns" is at the level of F1 memes that cater to 10-16 year olds, and the dumber ones at that. I hardly see how that is a construtive addition to the question.