A former key Lewis Hamilton ally has warned the British driver’s F1 rivals against writing off the seven-time champion.
Hamilton has not been in title contention since 2021, recording two win-less seasons in 2022 and 2023 as Mercedes struggled with the ground-effect era whilst old rival Max Verstappen continued his dominance of the sport.
Hamilton did break his long win drought at the 2024 British GP and added a further victory in Belgium. By then, he had long been announced as a 2025 Ferrari driver.
The Scuderia look better placed than Mercedes to challenge for titles in the coming season, with the team finishing just 14 points behind McLaren in the fight for the 2024 constructors’ title.
Hamilton is seeking a record-breaking eighth drivers’ crown, which his former strategy director at Mercedes turned Williams team principal James Vowles believes is very achievable.
“The one thing about Lewis that I know about him, is that he reinvents himself every winter,” Vowles told Sky Sports.
“He comes back stronger every winter and with every competitor he’s been up against, he finds a way to improve himself, to become alongside them if he is behind them.
“If he is ahead, he finds a way of trying to step and march forward.
“It is Lewis, he is a seven-time world champion, you can never write him off.”