Lewis Hamilton has not joined Ferrari to drive up the share price or bring in sponsors. He’s there to win, and suggesting otherwise is “really unfair to Lewi”.
That’s the opinion of Ferrari chairman John Elkann.
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“The power of the Lewis Hamilton brand,” he wrote on social media. “Ferrari’s share price has jumped 6% today – on a market cap of 66 billion, his news is worth $4 billion!”
Having closed trading on January 31st with a share price of $346.78 as whispers of Hamilton’s signing spread on Thursday, it rocketed to a high of $384.00 with further gains made later in the day.
It has, according to former Ferrari driver Jacky Ickx, been a major marketing victory for Ferrari.
After former driver turned Sky commentator Martin Brundle said Hamilton’s signing was “certainly worth it for Ferrari already”, Ickx claimed Ferrari signed the seven-time World Champion “probably for marketing reasons.
“We have to remember that there are many important aspects to F1, and not just politics. There are also economics, marketing.”
Elkann, Ferrari’s chairman, says that’s an “unfair” assessment as Ferrari don’t need Hamilton for marketing or share prices or sponsorship, they have signed him solely to win races and World titles.
“I think it’s really unfair to Lewis, some of the comments saying, ‘This is a marketing operation,’” he told Time Magazine.
“Truth said, Lewis doesn’t need that. Ferrari doesn’t need that.
“What we need to do is win championships and do great things on the track. If that happens, what we can do outside of the track, in some ways, takes care of itself.
“There’s unlimited possibilities.”
Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo backed up Elkann’s claim that it is more than just marketing but rather a case of Ferrari bringing in a driver that can help them win a World title.
“In recent years, Ferrari’s problem had nothing to do with its drivers,” he told Radio GR Parlamento. “Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are strong and Lewis Hamilton is a phenomenon, as is Max Verstappen.
“His joining Ferrari is more than just a marketing plan as he wants to end his career by still winning in the red.
“The choice of Hamilton is of course a risk on the one hand, because you bring in a champion who has already won so much and wants to continue that at Ferrari.
“On the other hand, however, you have Leclerc, who has never won a title despite all kinds of good races.
“But it will be an interesting year for Ferrari, if we assume for a moment that they can close the gap with McLaren and start the season competitively right from the first race, that they have a car that enables the drivers to win in all conditions – and that they have a clear, communicating management.”
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