Deciding even before the first race of this season to
leave Mercedes for Ferrari, Christian Horner says Lewis Hamilton has “obviously
seen things” that led to his decision.
Hamilton shocked
the motorsport world back in February when he announced even before the first
lap in a 2024 F1 car that it would be his final season with Mercedes.
Christian Horner claims Lewis Hamilton is ‘jumping at the
right time
Exercising an escape clause in his contract, Hamilton
instead signed a multi-year deal to partner Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.
Red Bull team boss Horner responded to Hamilton news by
saying: “He’s obviously seen something there that he believes in that serves
him better than staying where he is. I think for F1, a Lewis-Ferrari tie-up is
really exciting.”
However, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff was quick to
debunk the idea that Hamilton had run to Ferrari after testing the W15 in the
simulator.
Asked two days after being informed of Hamilton’s
decision if he had driven the W15 in the sim yet, Wolff told the media
including PlanetF1.com: “Today.”
Mercedes have since gone on to record a better season
than the previous two years with the Briton winning two Grands Prix –
Silverstone and Spa, his first wins since his 2021 title fight against Max
Verstappen.
Overall though it has been a mixed season for the
Brackley squad as steps forward have been followed by confusion steps
backwards.
Horner reckons Hamilton is “jumping” at the right time.
“It will be very interesting to see how Lewis acclimatises to life at Ferrari,” he told TalkSPORT. “He’s obviously coming out of a very comfortable environment, one that he knows very well over the last 10 years, or more than 10 years. So that’ll be a change for him.
