No, Lewis Hamilton is not going to Ferrari.

Lewis in Red

It all started with Mr. E, the "good little dictator" as Flavio Flav called him this week, dictating to journalists recently that a Lewis in Red would be "great for the sport".   Maybe because headlines are easier than what would really be great for the sport.

It is true that Hamilton has yet to sign the new contract with Mercedes.  He now, as Vettel has been doing for years, negotiates his own deals and  contracts consist of a lot of pages Lewis has no time to read... because he's been very busy.

Indeed Hamilton has been quite busy since the last race in China, first showing the world he cares by showcasing his early morning stuff.

Then  Captain Morganing his Cobra in Malibu.  Modeling  hats, getting his Beeb on and showing up at the Party of the Year in NYC where, ironically, Axis ran into him (we were nice, as was he).


Contract signing keeps getting postponed.

There is no doubt Hamilton has spoken with the Scuderia.  If it's true he bought a LaFerrari, you can be sure that at the very least someone from the Gestione Sportiva stopped by the delivery area at Maranello to have chat.

But, while Ferrari may be extravagant in their promise to match Mercedes investments, they are not insane:  the most valuable commodity they got switching Vettel for Alonso is a the absence of drama.   Pairing Lewis with Seb would be suicidally insane at this stage.

If any discussion was ongoing, Maurizio Arrivabene put the kibosh on it yesterday stating Ferrari does not need Hamilton at the moment and  has signed a pre-contract with Valtteri Bottas.

You could very well imagine Mercedes management had a behind the scene hand in this:  Bottas is tied to Toto Wolff who perhaps traded a public statement from Arrivabene for a future Finn in case the current Finn loses interest or demands too much money.

Where does that leave Lewis?   Certainly delaying keeps Mercedes on their toes and any possible advantage in his corner even as he claims he does not demand #1 status.  It's a tactic which has little chance of backfiring.

If you want to get all conspiratorial you might imagine his long term plan might be to return, triumphantly, to McHonda and win his fourth Championship in a white and red car, wearing a yellow and blue helmet.

Certainly, he wants to get paid as much money as Vettel and Alonso are getting, which I suppose he deserves.