Winning F1 title with Ferrari would make Lewis Hamilton ‘forever unbeatable’
Lewis Hamilton can cement his legacy as the greatest F1 driver of all time by winning with Ferrari, it has been claimed.
Winning an F1 world title with Ferrari would make Lewis Hamilton “forever unbeatable”, according to Jacques Villeneuve.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton is making a blockbuster switch from Mercedes to Ferrari next season as he bids to win an elusive record-breaking eighth world title.
Such a feat would cement the 39-year-old Briton’s legacy as the greatest driver of all time, reckons fellow world champion Villeneuve.
“That is the next step for him to become the biggest driver ever,” Villeneuve told Grosvenor Sport.
“Winning again with Mercedes would not really serve any purpose, but winning with Ferrari? There’s nothing bigger in the world after everything he has achieved.
“When he signed there was nothing to see. All he could see was where Mercedes had gone. So, it was time to move. And sometimes you go on a hunch, and you jump and you hope that the other ship is better.
“Then you look like a hero like he did when he went to Mercedes and people were asking, ‘What is he doing? Is he crazy? It turned out to be good.
“When he did sign for Ferrari nothing was in place like it is now. It wasn't the Ferrari we see today.
“That's what you have to understand. It is a Ferrari. It's the biggest name in the car or motorsport industry and Lewis has been the biggest name. So, link the two. Look how the shares went up in Ferrari.
“If he can win with Ferrari, he will be forever unbeatable. That's it. And he will cement his name. It's very simple.
“If he doesn't win with Ferrari, he still has got all the records. That would just be the ultimate step. So it's worth taking the gamble.”
Hamilton is enduring a miserable end to his illustrious Mercedes stint but Villeneueve believes this is simply due to his “heart and head” already being at Ferrari.
“With everything he's been able to do, he's still capable of doing it,” Villeneuve added. “There’s no doubt there. Just because it's not working right now with Mercedes doesn't mean that he's lost it.
“His heart and his head are probably somewhere else already! He knew that he couldn't win the championship this year with Mercedes, maybe a race or two, but not the championship. So why put all that energy into building the car and the team for someone else?
“Right now, he's just finishing his contract.”
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