De Wet wrote: ↑15 Apr 2024, 16:04CHT wrote: ↑15 Apr 2024, 14:03Having Sainz and LH swapping seats may not be good for Ferrari and Merc.
Suppose Sainz and GR finish ahead of their respective teammate in 2024.
If Sainz finished 2025 season better than GR, fans will think LH's time as WDC is over and Ferrari drivers are faster
If LH doesnt finish 2025 ahead of Charles, fans will think Fred has made the wrong decision to bring in LH
If LH finishes ahead of Charles, fans will think Fred should have kept Sainz instead of Charles.
The only hope is for both Charles and LH to finish the season ahead of their teammate or Sainz doesnt end up at Merc
Fred Made a Huge Mistake With LH....
You could be right because prior to signing LH, Charles is like the crown prince at Ferrari with a multi year contract that will see him at Ferrari for many years. (sort of making Sainz as the no. 2 driver within the team). And this pairing has been working well since the arrival of Fred and we are finally starting to see some positive result since end of last year.
But with LH signing, Charles will suddenly be demoted he "no.2" driver at Ferrari as attention in 2025 will likely be focusing on LH instead of him. As we know Fred has played a big part in signing LH due to his past relationship with LH, he will certainly push the team to deliver a car that suit LH to justify the decision of signing the super star driver.
To make things worst for Charles, Sainz is now a liberated driver driving to survive and free to challenge Charles without having any fear about upseting Ferrari's team order. So if Sainz is able to continue this momentum in the past 3 races, his will certainly destroy Charles's confidence going into 2025.
To me LH will be good for marketing and brand awareness, but a destabilizng force within the team going into 2026.