Former racer Juan Pablo Montoya believes that Ferrari should shift its focus to star driver Lewis Hamilton if the team wants to finally win a Formula 1 title again. The Colombian observes that the Scuderia continues to tailor its cars to the preferences of Charles Leclerc, while a vehicle developed according to Hamilton’s preferences – historically speaking – could win more races.
“At the moment, Ferrari is not focused on Hamilton,” Montoya said in his podcast for W Radio Colombia. “It will be interesting to see if they suddenly pay more attention to Hamilton’s or Leclerc’s wishes for next year’s car.” The former driver and seven-time race winner argues that Ferrari could better cater to the preferences of the Englishman – cars built around Leclerc have reportedly fallen short in the past.”
‘Lewis knows exactly what a car needs’
“In my opinion, the foundation of the car should be more based on Lewis Hamilton than on Charles Leclerc – if they want to be competitive next year,” emphasized Montoya. “Cars that are based on Charles’ preferences can win one or two races per year, but not a championship.” Leclerc has already won eight Grands Prix for the Scuderia, but never advanced beyond second place in the drivers’ championship – not even in seasons where he had a clear leadership role within the team.
Montoya explained that Lewis Hamilton’s leadership has historically yielded successes. “Under Lewis’s leadership, they will quickly find more pace – he always knows exactly what a car needs,” said the Colombian. Possibly, Ferrari’s internal politics prevented the Englishman from making his voice heard in his first months within the team. “At Ferrari, they are very political and quite complicated,” Montoya elaborated. “Lewis probably expected – because he is Lewis Hamilton – that they would do everything he wanted. We all expected that. But well, egos are a tricky thing,” he concluded with a wink.
