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There was a lot of fuss at the time about Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari next season. But I wonder if the Scuderia, and its disappointing team manager Fred Vasseur, may regret the haste with which they signed the seven-time world champion.
For Lewis, the move is undoubtedly correct. He needs a new life away from the lackluster Mercedes, even if his impending departure means losing his right to a lifetime ambassador role with the Silver Arrows.
It also makes a lot of business sense for Ferrari and the driver. Hamilton is the biggest global name in motorsport, as was Michael Schumacher, his last super champion, in his youth, and the tills should ring loudly.
But it’s a mistake for Ferrari, Vasseur’s last (another notable example is dropping Carlos Sainz, instead of the error-prone Charles Leclerc). If he were smarter, he wouldn’t have hired Lewis, who will be 40 years old when he turns the wheel of a Ferrari in anger. In his place, he would have recruited Max Verstappen, now 26 years old and at the peak of his powers.
It would be the old Ferrari style. Luca di Montezemolo, team director and president of the legend, pushed Schumacher out the exit door at the age of 37. He saw rejuvenation as a requirement, just as Sir Alex Ferguson did in a parallel world.
Ferrari may have missed a trick by opting for Lewis Hamilton (right) over Max Verstappen (left)
It could be Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur’s latest notable mistake.
Not available? Well, Verstappen might be after the recent turmoil at Red Bull. He was even convincingly linked to Mercedes, and his father Jos surely considered that option.
Perhaps I am being unfair to Vasseur, who cannot revoke the order of his president, John Elkann.
But whoever made the call suspended it.
An A+ for McLaren’s Stella boss
Star of the season? Verstappen is a contender, but we need to give someone else a chance. My nomination is Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal.
Just by talking to him, you can detect the methodical thinking process of a top-notch engineer. He is also a decent man.
He has forged a revolution in the team to the point where last year’s clunker is transformed into a race winner, even against the might of Red Bull.
Last year, standing next to a flight bulkhead, he explained in plain English (Italian’s second language) that the secret to accelerating under current rules had to do with the ground and the vortices generated there.
Informed by this, he has overseen a miracle that the eyes cannot see.
Equal credit to her boss Zak Brown, who was smart enough to perceive Stella as the right man for the job.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella (pictured) has sparked a revolution within the team
Surely it’s time we let Senna rest in peace?
Isn’t it time we let Ayrton Senna rest in peace?
He died 30 years ago, on May 1, and those who want to remember him have every right to do so. In fact, we have done so at Mail Sport.
And before last week’s race at Imola, Sebastian Vettel hosted a drivers’ meeting on the grid and drove a Senna car he owned. All a bit strange considering that the German was seven years old when the Brazilian died, at the age of 34.
Now, McLaren, whose most successful driver was Senna, has adorned its Monaco car in yellow and green, the colors of its national flag, a month later. And his quotes are engraved on the staircase that connects the paddock with the garages.
Sure, Senna was among the handful of greatest drivers of all time, but this endless deification of him is in danger of never stopping.
Thirty years is not, in any case, a historic anniversary. There were twenty-five. Can we wait until the 50th anniversary before coming back?
The endless deification of the legendary Brazilian Ayrton Senna risks never stopping
Goodbye Stars’N’Bars
Stars’N’Bars was a landmark of the port, and I must admit that over the years I noticed the occasional expense claim there. Right next to the media center, it closed last year after three decades serving burgers and beers.
A new, more elegant establishment has opened in the same location.
Conscientiae, it’s called. ‘Three expensive’, as they described it to me. It’s actually not that bad and without the old sticky floor.
Been to Mona-Coe?
I heard it here last year while talking to Seb Coe. A colleague asked her if she had been to Monaco before. The double Olympic gold medalist pointed his finger at the World Athletics headquarters overlooking the Mediterranean and said: “That’s my office.”
Mercedes bets on youth as Hamilton leaves
Mercedes is said to be likely to opt for youth to replace Lewis Hamilton. That means 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli will enter. Red Bull is likely to stick with Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the least problematic substitute in the business.
Mercedes likely to opt for youth to replace Lewis Hamilton with Kimi Antonelli
Eddie recovers quickly
Medical bulletin. Eddie Jordan, who emerged as Adrian Newey’s unlikely manager, is recovering well after recent prostate surgery. He is well enough to attend this weekend.
The Horner scandal is coming to an end
Christian Horner feels emboldened enough to break bread with British journalists on Friday.
The fact that he is doing so, aboard Red Bull’s floating ‘Energy Station’ hospitality building, indicates that he believes he is on the other side of the scandal that shook him and the team to their foundations earlier in the year.
Cleared of any crime, an appeal process continues. At least we’re heading towards the end of the beginning.
Horner was accused of “inappropriate behavior” by an employee before being acquitted
Tradition thrown out the window in Monaco
The old rhythm of Monaco weekends has been sacrificed on the altar of conformity. All the other races went and ran like this (more or less the new sprint format): Thursday, media day; Friday, practice; Saturday, classification; Sunday, race.
Monaco was but it is no longer: Wednesday, press day; Thursday, practice; free Friday; Saturday, qualifying: Sunday, race.
It’s no inconvenience for television viewers, I know, but the more leisurely format, evoking languid walks in the Mediterranean and long lunches on yachts, was a joy for those who were present.
Liberty Media, which bought the sport in 2017, squeezed everything out and the tradition burned. But when you have 24 races to do, every day counts.