Ted Kravitz has shared his own theory on why Lewis Hamilton chose to sign with Ferrari.
Sky Sports pundit Ted Kravitz has shared his ‘personal theory’ that Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari was inspired by his admiration for Ayrton Senna. Hamilton will leave Mercedes to drive for Ferrari at the end of the season, having signed a multi-year deal with the Italian outfit starting from 2025.
Hamilton has always been open about his admiration for Senna, who achieved great success with McLaren by winning three Drivers’
Championships within four years from 1988 to 1991. Senna tragically passed away in a fatal accident at Imola in 1994, but his legacy lives on as one of the best F1 drivers in history.
“After his passing, it was revealed that Senna had contemplated switching to Ferrari towards the end of his racing career. In 2020, former chairman Luca di Montezemolo stated that Senna had expressed interest in joining the Scuderia shortly before the tragic accident that took his life.”
Kravitz, meanwhile, believes that Hamilton may have been motivated to swap Mercedes for Ferrari in order to achieve what Senna did not. Speaking to former Williams engineer Pat Symonds on F1TV, he said: “I have a personal theory. He [Hamilton] spent a lot of his Christmas and New Year in Brazil and we know that Ayrton was always Lewis’ childhood hero.
Of course, you knew Ayrton Senna very well and I don’t think it’s any secret that after his Williams drive, Ayrton wanted to finish his career at Ferrari. I think that’s been documented over the years.”
Symonds, who worked alongside Senna as an engineer at Toleman, also shared Kravitz’s view that Hamilton may have been influenced by Senna in deciding to join Ferrari.
Symonds added that he believes there is some truth to this statement. He mentioned that these individuals are inherently sports enthusiasts and there is a sense of romanticism surrounding the sport.
Ferrari holds a significant reputation and is the aspiration of many children. “I believe Hamilton has accomplished a lot.
Is it a risk worth considering? Absolutely. Absolutely. It’s also true that Ferrari performed well last year, even though their championship results may not have reflected that accurately.”
“They sometimes made mistakes, but overall, they had a car that was fast during qualifying and decent during races. It wasn’t as fast as Red Bull, but it was still competitive.
By making improvements, they could make a significant impact.”
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