The version of Lewis Hamilton which “nobody can beat, not even Max Verstappen” could return at Ferrari in F1 2025.
However, despite this prediction from Juan Pablo Montoya, the former Williams and McLaren driver warns that this is dependent on Ferrari giving Hamilton a car competitive enough to “keep him motivated”.
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari: The unstoppable F1 2025 force?
Hamilton and Verstappen are no strangers to going head-to-head in F1 title combat, the duo delivering one of the all-time classic battles for the crown in 2021, but since Verstappen won out in that exchange to become World Champion for the first time, Hamilton has been absent from the title scene, while Verstappen became a four-time World Champion.
However, Hamilton will look to change his fortunes in F1 2025 having ended his record-breaking Mercedes tenure in order to join Ferrari, as his pursuit of that elusive World Championship rolls on.
Question marks have been raised over Ferrari’s move for Hamilton, with the 40-year-old brought in at the expense of Carlos Sainz after a challenging final season at Mercedes, which included his “definitely not fast anymore” self-assessment after a fresh qualifying defeat to then team-mate George Russell in Qatar.
But, if Ferrari provide the machinery, then Montoya is backing Hamilton to rediscover the kind of form in F1 2025 which would leave even Verstappen powerless to stop him, as the Red Bull driver chases his fifth World Championship triumph on the trot.
“What happened to Lewis Hamilton is what happened to Fernando Alonso,” Montoya told Crash.net.
“They still have 100 per cent of their speed, but they will still somehow qualify just in the top 10. If the car is capable of winning, then they would be much higher.
“If Hamilton has a fast car this season, we’ll see the old Hamilton from a few years ago, the Hamilton that nobody can beat, not even Max Verstappen.
“But the question for Ferrari is how will they keep him motivated?”
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While Montoya believes Hamilton has not lost any of the speed which has taken him to a record-equalling seven World titles and a record 105 wins and 104 poles, another ex-F1 racer in Karun Chandhok does not think Hamilton possesses the same outright speed which he once enjoyed.
Yet, that does not mean, in Chandhok’s opinion, that Hamilton should be ruled out as an F1 2025 title contender.
“I think Ferrari made good steps towards the end of the year,” Chandhok said, as per GPblog.
“I think Lewis will bring new energy into the thing [team].
“Is Lewis as fast in qualifying as he used to be? No. Is he going to be as fast as Charles Leclerc in qualifying? Probably not. Is Lewis still capable to win an eighth championship if the car is capable? Yes, he is.”
With Hamilton joining Leclerc at Ferrari, Sainz – a four-time grand prix winner in Ferrari colours – agreed a multi-year deal with Williams.
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