Lewis Hamilton emerging as a title contender in his debut campaign with Ferrari and taking on Max Verstappen would be the “dream scenario” for the F1 2025 championship.
After four years of losing the Drivers’ Championship to Verstappen, a refreshed and driven Hamilton is set to return to the Albert Park circuit in March, aiming to reclaim the title.
Will Lewis Hamilton be Ferrari’s ‘saviour’?
Hamilton has made the bold move from Mercedes to Ferrari ahead of the F1 2025 season, with one goal in mind: securing his elusive eighth World title.
He was just a lap away from making history in 2021, leading the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a winner-takes-all showdown with Verstappen. However, a controversial decision by then-FIA race director Michael Masi to restart the race with only one lap remaining turned the tide. Verstappen, on fresher tyres, passed Hamilton and clinched the title, kicking off a streak of four consecutive championships for the Dutchman.
Since then, Hamilton has struggled to compete as Mercedes faced challenges with the new ground-effect aerodynamics introduced in 2022. Now, after 12 seasons with Mercedes, the Briton is taking a final gamble with Ferrari, hoping to reignite his championship ambitions.
The potential Hamilton vs. Verstappen rivalry is shaping up to be the headline story for the F1 2025 season, especially with Ferrari’s impressive gains in 2024 and Red Bull facing some challenges.
“That’s a dream scenario, of course, which we’ve already seen,” said former F1 driver Robert Doornbos to Motorsport.com. “Two different manufacturers and drivers competing against each other. But 2021 was something special because it marked the dethroning of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen stepping in to take the title.”
Hamilton’s move to Ferrari has dominated the F1 headlines this January, with each milestone the seven-time World Champion reaches with his new team making waves. From the iconic moment of him standing outside Enzo Ferrari’s legendary red-door house to his first official visit to Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters, the week culminated in Hamilton taking his first laps in a Ferrari F1 car at the Fiorano circuit in an SF-23.
For Doornbos, it was a pivotal moment for the sport. “I don’t know how you look at it, but I thought it was a legendary week for Formula 1,” he said. “I really enjoyed the photos of Lewis Hamilton. The moment, the images of him walking out of Enzo Ferrari’s house and driving his first meters on Ferrari’s famous Fiorano test circuit. I think this is a legendary moment in the history of the sport.”
“A seven-time World Champion in red. It suits him well, we have to say. And of course, you hope that after such a long dry spell at Ferrari, he’ll be the one to end it and bring home that first Drivers’ or Constructors’ title in a long time.
“Of course, you also hope for an exciting battle with Max Verstappen, but whether that will happen in the first year, I don’t know. But the feeling is there, and it would be great for us as fans!”
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