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Former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto's recent admission about Lewis Hamilton has left fans divided. Binotto, who's managing Kick Sauber now, stated that Ferrari brought the seven-time world champion at the dusk of his career. As the comment surfaced on the internet, fans shared their reactions on social media.
Binotto sat with Italian media house Automoto, where he spoke on Ferrari's move to bring Lewis Hamilton in and replace a young Carlos Sainz. Speaking about the move, the former Prancing Horse boss stated that the Italian team was late in bringing the British driver to Maranello.
"Hamilton is a certain age. Ferrari took him when he was at the end of his career. The ideal would have been to be able to have it a few years earlier," Binotto said.
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Notably, Binotto's comments came after Lewis Hamilton struggled to get going in a couple of races. His move from Mercedes to Ferrari hasn't yet reaped any rewards.
However, one can argue that Ferrari as a team has failed to give its drivers a car that matches McLaren in terms of race pace, straight line speed, or fine tire wear. For instance, the other Prancing Horse driver, Charles Leclerc, has also struggled with the SF-25 on multiple occasions.
As Binotto's comment surfaced online, fans shared various reactions. Here are some of them taken from the micro-blogging site, X:
Reacting to the statement, a fan wrote, "Ferrari just wanted to sell merch that’s all. Look at em’ now tho, was it worth it? I doubt it. They look like idiots now."
"For the limited time left he is a great money maker for Ferrari, but not an upgrade on track," another fan wrote.
A fan wrote, "As I said when he joined Ferrari. Why Ferrari sacrificed Sainz for a finished driver?"
"Jeez. Everyone hating on Lewis. Alonso is being out scored by Stroll and not a peep from anyone," a fan wrote.
"Lewis, who is supposedly at the end of his career, and Charles, who is apparently at his peak, are right next to each other in the championship standings. Bottom line. Mattia ran Ferrari to the ground, and people just want headlines," wrote a fan.
Another fan wrote, "We'll only know if the move worked out when Ferrari has a competitive car."
Ferrari boss has "2000 per cent" support for Lewis Hamilton
Amid the talks regarding Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari which has not reapted expected rewards, team principal, Frederic Vasseur, has expressed support for his star driver. Vasseur, who also worked with Hamilton during their F2 stints, said about the recent upheaval:
“I will be 2000% behind him and I will give him support here, and we will start from tomorrow morning to try to find solutions and reasons and to work on it early," he said.
"We just have to adjust the balance because we are, collectively, Lewis and us, we are studying the balance of his car and he is working the tyres and it's a kind of negative spot, but I think the potential of the car is there and we will try to solve that," he further added. (Via F1's official website)
Currently, Ferrari is in P2 in the Constructors' Championship with 165 points, and is ahead of Mercedes (159 points) and Red Bull (144 points). McLaren is leading the championship with 362 points after nine races and two Sprints.
