Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton stunned the world of motorsport at the beginning of February by announcing one of the biggest moves in Formula 1 history.
Lewis Hamilton will be a Ferrari driver at the beginning of 2025, joining Charles Leclerc in Maranello.
Legendary F1 driver Jackie Stewart was speaking on the Motor Sport Magazine Podcast about the move.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari in 2025
Hamilton had arguably his best weekend of the season in Canada but narrowly missed out on finishing on the podium, with teammate George Russell snatching 3 in the closing stages.
However, the 39-year-old was still extremely disappointed with his performance although he’ll be encouraged that Mercedes might have suddenly joined the battle at the front of the grid.
Ferrari – despite their disastrous weekend in Montreal – are still in a much stronger position to challenge Red Bull in 2025.
However, Stewart has admitted that he would have liked to see Hamilton make another decision regarding his future if he was set on leaving Mercedes.
READ MORE: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
Jackie Stewart gives his verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari
More than a third of the way through the 2024 F1 campaign, Lewis Hamilton currently sits 8 in the Drivers’ Championship.
If he were to finish there when the chequered flag waves in Abu Dhabi at the end of the year, it would be the worst performance of his F1 career.
Hamilton hasn’t stood on the top step of the podium since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which seems almost impossible to imagine when he was winning title after title during the 2010s.
There was virtually no discussion over Hamilton potentially changing teams before the 2026 ruleset despite Mercedes taking a step backwards over recent years.
However, an opportunity arose for Hamilton to join his old team principal at junior level Frederic Vasseur at Ferrari and he simply had to take it as he approaches his 40 birthday.
Jackie Stewart has now explained how he sees Hamilton’s move to Ferrari going.
While he supports the racing legend, he believes that Hamilton could have potentially had more impact on the sport in a non-racing capacity.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Lewis Hamilton chasing a record eighth F1 title with Ferrari in 2025
Asked about the move, Stewart said: “Well he certainly hasn’t done it without thought. He still obviously loves the sport.
“Commercially, I think he’s made more money than any other racing driver in the world, so it’s not just for money.
“At his age, it’s quite a big decision to be coming from lots of victories which were somewhat in the past compared to recent times because the Mercedes unit wasn’t doing quite as well as it was doing in the past.
“But, I hope he gets well out of it. Everybody’s really hungry, all these young drivers are really hungry, so they’re going to be after him because his reputation is so high and expectations so big.
“I wish him well but I would have rather that he retired in good order and he’ll be able to continue in the sport without necessarily racing and I know from my own experience how satisfying that is.
“I think it’s a big undertaking.”
It would be fascinating to see what role Hamilton would play in the F1 paddock if he stayed in the sport after retiring from racing.
A Hamilton-branded F1 team would be a throwback to Jackie Stewart’s team and could join the likes of Williams and McLaren in honouring some of the greats of the sport.
However, it’s hard to see Hamilton not having bigger plans for when he eventually steps away from F1.
The post ‘Big decision’: Jackie Stewart shares what he wishes Lewis Hamilton would have done instead of joining Ferrari appeared first on F1 Oversteer.