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Marc Surer believes Lewis Hamilton could be in a precarious position in Ferrari with Charles Leclerc as his teammate. The former F1 driver felt the seven-time champion could get beaten by the young Monegasque driver in the Maranello team.
The Swiss driver turned TV pundit compared the scenario with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, where the latter prevailed as the former was past his prime. Surer believes Lewis Hamilton could eventually be put in his place by Leclerc, as it unfolded between the German seven-time world champion and the Briton’s former teammate.
Speaking to Formule1 Germany, Surer commented on the Ferrari 2025 lineup saying:
“Leclerc is a big problem for [Hamilton] because Leclerc will be faster. Anything else would surprise me. It reminds me a bit of the situation with Michael Schumacher during his comeback with Mercedes. A certain Nico Rosberg put him in his place. And Lewis Hamilton could feel the same way.”
Lewis Hamilton has had very few teammates beat him in the same car with ease. With George Russell, 2022 was a tough season as the Briton was involved in developing most of the W13. However, in 2023 he had edged the junior British driver by a fair margin finishing third in the driver’s championship. The only year he was beaten at Mercedes fair and square was in 2016 by Nico Rosberg.
While Surer’s opinion is that Lewis Hamilton could get beaten by Charles Leclerc, the reality remains that the Briton is still in his competitive form, unlike his German counterpart. When it comes to Schumacher, the German champion had returned to F1 in 2010 after a hiatus from the sport but was far past his prime. From 2010-2012, the former Ferrari champion was beaten by a younger German driver consistently.
Former F1 driver reckons Mercedes will have to prioritize George Russell instead of Lewis Hamilton in 2024
Former F1 driver Marc Surer suggests that Mercedes will now have to rely on George Russell more than Lewis Hamilton to beat Max Verstappen.
The Swiss race driver turned TV pundit believes Mercedes will not be able to beat the dominant Dutch champion if they treat both their drivers equally.
He feels at some point the Silver Arrows squad will have to prioritize one driver as opposed to the outgoing champion.
Speaking to German publication Formule1, Surer said:
“Mercedes now has to rely entirely on Russell. But they’re not allowed to, because you can’t give a seven-time World Champion second-class material. That means they have to treat both of them equally. That of course makes things difficult for Mercedes because they only have a chance against Max Verstappen if they rely on one.”
Despite the British champion's move to Ferrari in 2025, the seven-time world champion hopes to end his 11-year-long journey with Mercedes on a high. If they were to contend for the title against Red Bull, it would be a tough choice for their team to choose a title contender. The Silver Arrows squad is currently set to launch their 2024 F1 car, the W16, on February 14, 2024.
