Long before Stefano Domenicali was the CEO of F1 or Lamborghini, he was the team principal of Scuderia Ferrari succeeding Jean Todt who today is the FIA president. Under Domenicali, Ferrari had drivers like Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso but the Italian revealed that there had even been talks with Lewis Hamilton who at the time was at McLaren to join the legendary Italian team.
"To be honest, yes, This is true and we discussed that, but I think the answer that Lewis was able to give was the right one," he said to Sky Sports responding to Hamilton's recent comments.
"I think that period of him [potentially joining Ferrari] has passed away," Domenicali added, which is something Hamilton agreed with as well. Hamilton is now tied to Mercedes till the end of 2023 by which time he will be 38 and will likely retire from the sport.
Lewis Hamilton will probably never drive for Ferrari
Photo Credit: AFP
Even if that were not to happen, Ferrari has Charles Leclerc tied up till 2024 and Carlos Sainz Jr who is in his first year is performing well and there is no reason why his contract wouldn't be renewed as he is also quite young at 27.
"There are moments in life, there is a movie that is very important to remember [for moments like this] 'Sliding Doors. There are moments where if you get into an elevator and you stay on another floor [as opposed to the original destination], so that was the situation with Lewis in that specific time of his life. But I don't think he can blame his choice, at least, because he has had an incredible career," Domenicali explained stating that the timing for Hamilton to join Ferrari was never right.
Even when Domenicali was at Ferrari he had hired Fernando Alonso who had a contentious relationship with Hamilton in his first season at McLaren which resulted in him leaving the team. So Hamilton alongside Alonso was also never really an option and by the time Alonso left the team, Hamilton was already signed and committed to Mercedes with whom he has won 6 of his 7 world titles.
