Irvine urges Hamilton to look to Ferrari

Thursday 6th November 2008

Just hours after pledging his future to McLaren, Lewis Hamilton is being urged to swap England for Italy with Eddie Irvine claiming Ferrari is the perfect team for the World Champ.

In the wake of his Drivers' Championship glory in Brazil on Sunday, Hamilton headed back to Woking this week where he pledged his future to McLaren.

"It's easy. I'm with the team I've always dreamed of being with and if you have the car of your dreams then why would you want to leave?" the 23-year-old said.

"The day I get in the car and don't have the motivation, maybe that's the time to get out but I want to see my career out with this team."

However, former Ferrari driver Irvine reckons Hamilton needs to race for Ferrari at some stage of his F1 career.

"What Lewis has achieved in only his second season is great for Formula 1 and he is, to me, the first normal F1 Champion in a long time," Irvine told his Virgin Media column.

"You look at (Michael) Schumacher and (Fernando) Alonso who were super boring out of the car.

"Lewis can talk, he looks good, he has a pop star girlfriend so he has a real appeal to the masses and that's great for Formula 1.

"So he may win a couple more with McLaren and he's loyal to Ron Dennis but he's got to move to Ferrari at some point.

"Having been there, I've seen what it's like and it's a different situation to being with any other team. He'll go there as a superstar already and ultimately I feel that's where he's got to go."

Your Comments

robson

"weemac2000- i would add brabham & stewart to the list of greats but definitely not the others. eg hunt got lucky with lauda in 76 & won by a point in much the same way as hamilton this year. ferrari have been unlucky on more than this occasion. moss would be the most overrated but hamilton will possibly take that crown. a measure of greatness is how good you are compared to your teammate also with regard to your machinery."

macone

"I appreciate Eddie Irvines opinion and Ferarri are an excellent team. This pledge of allegiance by Lewis is surely his way of repaying the faith and support given by the Mclaren team. If he were unable to reproduce his stunning form to date, then there would be an opportunity for someone else at Mclaren. Drawing on his previous experience and analysing some of his mistakes, personally i believe there is much more to come from Lewis."

usualsuspects

"Ha ha.. funny how Irvine describes Lewis as normal then goes on to say that he can talk to the press well, looks good & has a POPSTAR girlfriend! Although I agree he will drive for ferrari at some point... "To paraphrase" peter gill they make for a natural alliance!"

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