NPR’s Mary Louie Kelly speaks with The Athletic reporter Madeline Coleman about the big news out of Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton is joining Ferrari.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Today, seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton announced he will leave Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of this season. The news sent shock waves through the racing world. He’s been with the team for the last 11 years, so why is he leaving what has been a very successful partnership? Well, here to tell us is Madeline Coleman. She covers Formula One for The Athletic. Hey there.
MADELINE COLEMAN: Hello. Thanks for having me.
KELLY: Hey. So for those of us who aren’t glued to every twist and turn of what’s happening in Formula One, give us some perspective. How big a deal is this?
COLEMAN: This is probably one of, if not the biggest driver move in F1’s history. It was a big surprise, especially since Lewis was indicating all last season that he planned to spend the rest of his career at Mercedes. And so for the news to kind of hit today, it sent shock waves throughout the entire F1 world.
KELLY: And do we know why? Why is he going?
COLEMAN: That’s a very good question. It’s a fair one. To be very honest, it’s not incredibly clear right now. My colleague, Luke Smith, kind of wrote earlier today that it kind of suggests that there might be some doubt in Mercedes’ ability to change course and get back to the summit of their, you know, winning ways. They were winning world championship after world championship for several years, but they’ve been struggling in recent years since the regulations changed.
KELLY: Yeah. I was looking and seeing Hamilton has not actually won a race since the 2021 season. So where should we put his value as he leaps to Ferrari?
COLEMAN: I think that he brings a lot of value to the team. He’s got the experience. He has more wins since 2007 than Ferrari has through all the driver changes that they’ve had over the years. So…
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