As Lewis Hamilton prepares for life at Ferrari, the Prancing Horses are beginning to find some Formula 1 form.
Those were the words of Lewis Hamilton earlier this year when he announced the termination of a connection with Mercedes that dated back to when he was 13.
The Briton has won seven world titles in cars rocking a Mercedes engine and he, alongside a number of vibrant, and often conflicting, partners such as Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas, has been part of what can only be described as a Silver Arrows dynasty.
But his shift to one of Formula 1’s most iconic teams, Ferrari, moved the sport’s tectonic plates.
At the end of this season he will head to Maranello and the Prancing Horses, not just because of their history and his affection for everything Ferrari red but because they are a team who can help him challenge for an eighth world title.
Next March Lewis Hamilton will start on the grid of what could be his final Australian Grand Prix at the age of 40, level with Michael Schumacher on seven world titles.
The headline comparison might be equal, but the German won titles with Ford, Renault and Ferrari engines. All seven of Hamilton’s titles have been in cars with Mercedes engines.
Therefore, on the balance of comparables, Schumacher is the better achiever. But not if Hamilton wins an eighth.
And Ferrari appear to be doing their very best to go into the final year before the regulations change again with a very competitive car.
Ferrari on the charge
Having won back-to-back races in the USA and Mexico over the last two weeks – albeit the winner in Mexico City Carlos Sainz Jr is leaving for Williams at the end of the year as a result of Hamilton’s impending arrival – Ferrari look to be on the charge towards the summit of Constructors’ Championship, something the team would have dismissed as impossible just months ago.
Ferrari are always disproportionately favoured over other Formula 1 teams. As well as merit-based prize money, the Prancing Horses also get some dosh from the central reserves purely for being Ferrari.
So the addition of a team title would only add to their coffers ahead of the final year under the current rules.
In 2026 the regulation changes could drastically alter the make-up of the grid. Next season, therefore, could be the final act in a Hamilton-shaped career with a car surely destined for greatness.
Brits are famously pessimistic, the glass is always bone dry; not even half empty. But it is difficult for those who have watched Hamilton rise from a youthful, giddy teen into a relentless and ruthless winner see anything other than one final roulette of a season with Ferrari.
Fairytales rarely come true, but perhaps it is written in the stars for the boy from Stevenage.
