2024-02-10 05:15:29
Williams Racing team principal James Bowles believes his former team Mercedes will “come back stronger” following losing Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari. Mercedes announced the shocking news that seven-time world champion Hamilton will leave the team at the end of 2024 and join Ferrari, which is managed by former GP2 boss Frédéric Vasseur.
According to Bowles, Hamilton’s shock departure will inevitably hurt Mercedes, but he believes all parties will come out stronger. “I actually think this is good for the sport,” Bowles said at Williams’ 2024 color launch. “It will be good for Lewis, because he will learn from it and challenge himself. “It’s not good for Mercedes in the short term, but really, how far can they get a driver? “They’ll have a strong lineup to choose from, and as a result, they’ll come back stronger. So ultimately over time, overall The timing of Hamilton’s decision was unexpected, but Bowles said he was not surprised that Hamilton was ready to step out of his comfortable life at Mercedes and make a change. “I talked to him over the weekend and it was a difficult decision for him,” Bowles said. “First and foremost, this has been his home and his family for many years,” he said. “And when you try to change organizations and move somewhere else, it’s like all of us, it’s tearing you up inside. “But he wants to prove to himself and prove to the world that he can overcome one of the most difficult things. “That means moving to a new organization and still being successful. And he probably only had one chance left in his career to prove that, and I completely understand why.” Williams driver Alex Albon said: , said it was a “pinch-me-down moment” when he learned of Hamilton’s transfer, and compared it to soccer icon Lionel Messi’s transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Inter Miami. “What news. I don’t know regarding you guys, but it was definitely unexpected for me. But it’s good for him. I think he wants that change.” It was held at the same time as preparations for the new season, in which new liveries and machines were announced. It was also on the same day that Ferrari reported strong results for its road car division, following which the company’s stock price rose regarding 9%. “It’s obviously bad timing because it’s the week before all the teams have made their announcements,” Albon said. “But for me, seeing Ferrari’s share price go up so much and the general reaction to the news shows how big of a deal Lewis is. “For me, it’s definitely a pinch yourself.” It was a moment. Is this a real story? There were a lot of rumors going around during the winter and I didn’t know which ones were credible and which ones weren’t. The Ferrari thing was definitely the first one. “It seemed like a rumor, but then it became reality. “So it’s great. It reminds me in a way of the footballer Lionel Messi’s move to Miami. It’s so big, it shows his aspirations for Formula 1. Of course, as you have seen, it also raises a lot of questions and opens up possibilities for the driver market.”
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