Too old? Nonsense, now is the perfect time for Hamilton to join Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton turns 40 tomorrow and as he celebrates another lap around the sun, his thoughts will undoubtedly drift towards the upcoming Formula 1 season.

As Autosport revealed, his first run in a Ferrari is imminent, as the team looks to utilise its TPC [Testing of Previous Car] allocation of 1000km around its Fiorano test track later this month.

There are, of course, those who will say that at 40, Hamilton is too old and that he’s lost his edge.

History proves this argument. Pioneers such as Juan Manuel Fangio, who was 46 when he won his fifth and final title, and Giuseppe Farina, who was 43, are names from the earliest days of F1.

But in the modern era, no driver has been crowned world champion in their 40s. The closest examples are Nigel Mansell, who was 39, and Alain Prost, at 38. Given these accolades came in 1992 and 1993 respectively, these are not exactly recent honours either.

When you look for examples in other sports of those who have become champions in their 40s, the list is also pretty slim.

Notable names include tennis star Martina Navratilova, who won her last major – the mixed doubles at the US Open in 2006 – a month before turning 50, and boxer Bernard Hopkins, who unified the WBA and IBF light heavyweight titles in 2014 at the age of 49.

Make no mistake, the odds are stacked against Hamilton – but he would not want it any other way.

Hamilton is motivated most when he feels his back is against the wall. He has to come out swinging to fight back whether that be in the form of winning races, titles or changing perceptions and attitudes.

Hearing people write off his chances of winning titles with Ferrari will only serve to motivate him more.

But he also has a point to prove.

Toto Wolff’s comments, which he later clarified, relating to a driver’s shelf-life, should be printed out and stuck on Hamilton’s bedroom door as a daily reminder.

Remember, it was Hamilton’s decision to cut short his contract with Mercedes and seek a new challenge with Ferrari, not the other way around. Things had gone stale at Mercedes, it was time to move on to a new challenge.

Hamilton also has an itch to scratch in the form of a record eighth world title that he was denied in 2021. That result still rankles with him and it is a wrong that he is determined to right.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12

Photo by: Erik Junius

He may have felt that after Mercedes failed to produce a car that was not consistently quick enough over the whole season that Ferrari now offered him the best opportunity.

Based on recent form, he would be right, with the Italian team coming out of pre-season testing as one of the top two teams and generally starting the campaign well.

If we are looking to add weight to the argument that his move is the correct choice, we could look at the previous example of when he chose to change teams; the bombshell announcement following the 2012 Singapore GP that he would be leaving McLaren to join Mercedes.

The switch seemed illogical on paper. Why would he swap the regular winners for struggling Mercedes? But with a victory in his first season with the Silver Arrows and six drivers’ titles later, the move proved extremely savvy.

The final element is that it is his decision to stay in F1.

After the fallout from the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, going winless for the longest time in his F1 career, not to mention his other business interests, with new regulations looming for 2026, and off the back of the longest-ever F1 season, Hamilton could have walked away from F1. Who would have blamed him?

But the fact he has not only stayed in the series but has also taken a new challenge at this stage of his career, proves he believes he is still good enough to meet his sky-high expectations.

Drivers Parade Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

We already know he is still quick enough to win races, as we saw at the British GP and the Belgian GP in 2024, so that counter-proves the opinion that he is simply not quick enough.

The final element as to why this is the perfect time for him to join Ferrari is looking at the other side of the relationship.

Ferrari is much improved under Fred Vasseur. Organisational structure looks sound and the famed doomed race strategy calls were at least fewer in 2024. More importantly, the car has been consecutively quick for the past few seasons.

The missing ingredient has been the lack of a world championship-winning mentality. 

In the same way that McLaren needed to re-educate itself on what it takes to challenge and win on a regular basis, Ferrari too has been lacking that impetus. However, Hamilton will now bring that to Maranello.

His arrival at the team should also provide a boost to the team’s staff, and add motivation to go the extra mile, while it is also likely to have a significant positive impact on his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who needs to find an extra gear when it comes to race days.

Yes, the odds are stacked against him. And at 40, this is without doubt his biggest challenge in his F1 career, coming with unprecedented levels of expectation and scrutiny. But that’s why the timing is perfect. It allows him to set a new benchmark and redefine the record books.