'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABlAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQgQAAEDAwMFAQAAAAAAAAAAAAMBAhEABBIFEyEGIiMxMlEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQFEQABAwUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMRAAQFEiFx/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDNnRQ7jWL86akYr0XTt8W2RG4I1uLMpZ3THKJEftUyW5TkeVSEkjlcvkj659Y0pVfF5C8LbrZdJQ0oBAIBgGRyfKVcW7MpXqdlyVGT2v/Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Lewis Hamilton would be keeping a close eye on what's going on with his old rival Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin this season.
What we have seen ever since the Spaniard wore the green overalls is not only a happier and more successful Fernando Alonso but also a better version. So much so that at the ripe old age of 41, Alonso has arguably been the second-best driver this season.
He has scored four podiums in five races and no one could look at him and say that he does not belong on the F1 grid. While all of this is happening, Lewis Hamilton, just like everyone else in the F1 paddock will be keeping a keen eye on the proceedings. And in what might come as a shock, Fernando Alonso could prove to be the inspiration for Lewis Hamilton to join Ferrari.
By the end of the season, we could be looking at a Lewis Hamilton-Charles Leclerc swap, and all of this orchestrated by Fernando Alonso, Here's how!
How Fernando Alonso inspires Lewis Hamilton's departure from Mercedes
Being 'the Alfa' at Ferrari
Let's be fair, can we definitively call Lewis Hamilton the lead driver at Mercedes? The answer is no, we can't.
At best, there are two equally fast drivers within Mercedes and what that does is that it divides attention. Unlike his former teammate Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton cannot go into every weekend knowing that he will beat George Russell.
If or when Mercedes does figure out how to make the car fast, Lewis will have a more than capable, younger, and hungrier teammate in Russell to contend with. Does he want that? Or, consider the alternative scenario where Lewis Hamilton goes to Ferrari, has Carlos Sainz in the supporting cast, and builds a team around himself.
The luxury of having an entire team work for you is one that Lewis does not have right now. All of this could change if Hamilton bites the bullet and moves to Ferrari.
The changing tides at Ferrari
It's hard to deny that Ferrari has been going through a lot of mess over the last decade or so. Ever since Fred Vasseur joined the team, there have been quite a few people who have left. At the same time, Vasseur is on a recruitment drive and hiring key personnel from Red Bull over the last few months.
The team is in that transitional phase where Vasseur is weeding out stuff that he feels weighs the team down. At the same time, he's bringing in people that could help propel Ferrari to the top. While many people forget this, Vasseur is arguably one of the more experienced team leaders with a record of successfully managing racing teams in the past as well. ART, the team Lewis Hamilton had success with in junior categories was run by Vasseur only.
The man knows what he's doing and with Lewis already having experience of working with him will know that Fred can turn things around at Ferrari. Just like Fernando Alonso was able to identify, Hamilton could be keeping a keen eye on Ferrari and possibly make the move as well.
The GOAT legacy
While there are many that feel Hamilton is already the GOAT in F1, there are quite a few that disagree with it as well. Having said that, if Lewis Hamilton goes to Ferrari and wins a world title with that team, there's hardly any argument left that he is the greatest of all time.
In the last 4 decades, except for Michael Schumacher, no other driver has been able to achieve a level of sustained success with the team. Whether it was Sebastian Vettel, or Fernando Alonso, two drivers that were Hamilton's contemporaries. Or whether it was Alain Prost or Nigel Mansell. Some pristine talents have driven for Ferrari but no one has been able to win the title.
If Lewis Hamilton is able to do it, he surpasses all of these drivers. He even surpasses Michael Schumacher because he will emulate the German's achievements at Ferrari.
While Hamilton might continue to say that he does not care about legacy, and just like Fernando Alonso, a driver in his 40s, still striving hard to win, the Briton might make the move himself.
The stagnation of being a Mercedes driver
Hamilton has been a Mercedes driver for more than a decade now and while this does breed a more familiar surrounding, it breeds complacency as well. After a few years, you become a part of the system and there's nothing new to look forward to. Yes, there are challenges that need to be tackled but those challenges were there in the last decade as well, only in different forms.
Moving to a different team, a Ferrari for instance, gives Lewis an opportunity to try something new. At this stage, he has already achieved more than any other driver has with a particular team. Moving to Ferrari right now is him taking on a fresh challenge. At this stage of his career, especially since he's looking to stay for a while, Hamilton can take that risk.
If there is any driver that could bring glory to Ferrari, it's Lewis
We have to understand one thing here, the last time Ferrari was willing to bend over backward for a driver and listened to all his commands, it was Michael Schumacher. This was also because the German was by far, the biggest brand and the biggest personality in F1.
If Hamilton signs for Ferrari, he will be the driver, the personality, that could make the team bend over backward. Just like Michael Schumacher in Ferrari in the 90s, or just like Fernando Alonso with Aston Martin right now, Lewis will be the man that Ferrari looks up to as a guide to help the team win.
After winning all there is to win, Hamilton knows what is needed by a team to achieve success in F1. What Ferrari has not had since Schumacher retired is a driver they were forced to listen to. Unlike the Schumacher days, the team became far more Italian in the subsequent years and the decline was obvious.
Ferrari will be forced to listen to Hamilton in a way that it did not listen to either Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel and when a team like Ferrari is willing to cooperate, it achieves great success.
Lewis Hamilton will have the confidence that he can achieve with Ferrari what his compatriots were unable to. Watching how bit by bit Alonso has been guiding Aston Martin to be a frontrunner, Lewis would want to do the same and that's where the move to Ferrari will become even better,
Lewis Hamilton's move away from Mercedes has always looked unlikely as the options have just not seemed viable. However, if this move was to happen, it is going to be one inspired by the success achieved by Fernando Alonso.
