Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari ‘certain’, but with a catch

Lewis Hamilton driving for Ferrari in the 2021 Formula 1 season is “certain”, according to former team boss Eddie Jordan, but with a catch.

As has become customary for the time between Formula 1 seasons, there have been lots of discussions, reports and other rumors about the future driver lineup. That has especially been the case following the 2019 season.

The 2020 driver lineup is set, but so very little is known about the 2021 driver lineup, and that may continue to be the case. It could see quite the shakeup with the new rules and regulations slated to go into effect and a budget cap, one that notably does not include driver salaries, being among those new rules and regulations.

The most discussed driver regarding the 2021 season is six-time champion Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver has won the last three and five of the last six titles, and he is the favorite to tie Michael Schumacher’s all-time record with a seventh in 2020 in what is set to be his eighth consecutive season with the Silver Arrows.

More from Formula One

• Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
• Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
• Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
• Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
• Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points

It is also slated to be a contract year for the 34-yaer-old Briton, who signed a two-year extension with the Brackley-based team back in July of 2018.

The most discussed seat regarding the 2021 season is that which is currently occupied by Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari and has been occupied by the four-time champion since he replaced two-time champion Fernando Alonso ahead of the 2015 season. The 32-year-old German signed a three-year contract extension back in August of 2017, so his contract is slated to expire after 2020.

There are five drivers who have won at least four Formula 1 world championships. Hamilton is the only one who has never driving for the Scuderia.

The “it” rumor about 2021 links the six-time champion to the sport’s all-time most successful team to change that statistic.

So will Hamilton be driving one of the red cars in 2021 in what could be his first and perhaps only attempt to become Formula 1’s only eight-time champion?

Former Formula 1 team boss Eddie Jordan believes that Hamilton will end up with the Italian team in 2021, adding that he is “absolutely certain” to make the switch. However, he also believes that somebody else will move from Mercedes to Ferrari, and that “somebody else” isn’t teammate Valtteri Bottas, who is also slated to enter another contract year in 2020.

Jordan believes that current Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff, whose contract also expires after the 2020 season (noticing a trend here?), will depart and go with Hamilton to Ferrari.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who is under contract with the team through the 2022 season, demonstrated in his first year with the team that he wants the alpha driver role within the team, and he did everything he could do to prove himself, becoming the first Ferrari teammate to beat Vettel in the driver standings since Vettel joined Ferrari and winning more races and taking more pole positions in the process.

Jordan believes that Wolff will join Hamilton at Ferrari to protect Hamilton against the threat of Leclerc trying to be the team’s number one driver and potentially sabotaging his seventh/eighth championship bid.

Here is what Jordan had to say about the matter, according to Top Gear magazine.

"“I’m absolutely certain that in 2021 Lewis Hamilton will move to Ferrari. It would be the right time for Lewis to go to Ferrari. He’s coming to the end of his career but he still wants to win his seven or more titles“Lewis would only go to Ferrari if someone could protect him against any possibility that Charles Leclerc could usurp him. The real belief that I think Lewis will go to Ferrari in 2021 is that Toto Wolff’s contract also expires at the end of next year. So Ferrari would bring Toto along too.“Toto goes with him, because as I said, Lewis won’t leave himself exposed, and it will be his way of bringing an equalizer. [Toto] knows Mercedes’ long-term future in Formula 1 is not a certainty. Indeed, Lewis has mentioned Toto’s contract on more than one occasion, which is unusual for an F1 driver to do.”"

Will Lewis Hamilton leave Mercedes for Ferrari for the 2021 Formula 1 season, and if so, will he do so along with Toto Wolff? It is certainly an interesting possibility, likely one of many that will emerge from now throughout the 2020 season as Silly Season progresses until the 2021 lineup is settled.