Priestley: If Lewis wins F1 title with Ferrari he's got the Keys to Italy
F1 NewsWednesday, 08 May 2024 at 15:11
Marc Priestley believes Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari can achieve great things in Formula 1, admittedly shocked by the move the former McLaren chief mechanic predicts Sir Lewis will get the "Keys to Italy" if he claims an eighth F1 World Championship in Red.
In an interview today made possible by OLBG, It was great to connect again with Marc - F1 Elvis his 'handle' since his days in the trenches. It's been a dozen years since we last interviewed him for this site. Still very much in touch with the sport, doing it his way with a popular YouTube Vlog documenting his thoughts on the current F1 scene.
After a catch up and brief reminisce, the first and obvious question to Priestley - who worked with Hamilton when the Englishman transitioned from GP2 to F1 under the mentorship of McLaren supremo Ron Denis - was very simple: Lewis to Ferrari! Thoughts?
Marc took up the narrative: "It was a shocking move on many levels. I think it caught everybody by surprise. But now we've had a bit of time to reflect on it. I completely see why he's done it. He needs a new challenge in his life.
"Lewis is coming towards the end of his career. And of course, there's this romantic side of driving for Ferrari, which I get. But I also think more than that
"I think he's seeing a Ferrari that's on the way up, he's seeing a Mercedes that's potentially on the way down or certainly plateaued and struggling right now, with no real clue as to where they should be going. That's the biggest problem Mercedes have," reckons Marc.
Priestley: Ferrari are building
"They've got Fred Vasseur in charge now," Priestley points out. "Which I think is a great appointment. The whole organization is just beginning to morph and the structures and the procedures, you're seeing it when you hear things like the radio calls between the team and the drivers at Ferrari, there's more confidence.
"The drivers seem to have more confidence in the team. And they're getting things like strategy right more often than not, which is not something we could not have said a couple of years ago. Even pitstops now become a class-leading 1.9 second, fastest stop at the weekend in Miami.
"So Lewis is seeing a Ferrari team on the way up and he may have just got this about right in terms of timing. If he was able to live that dream out and bring the F1 world championship back to Ferrari after all of these years, you imagine he's got the keys to Italy, doesn't he?"
Priestley also warned that the union does come with its pitfalls and with potential to not live up to expectations: "There's always the chance when people, whether it's drivers or sportsmen come towards the end of their career and go for one last big attempt.
"Another big fight for a boxer or whatever, there's always a chance that you end up falling flat, and it can damage an otherwise wonderful reputation. But I don't think Lewis particularly is losing performance.
"Some F1 fans will look at Lewis and say, well, he's been beaten by George [Russell], they're having terrible results. And I do get all of that. But I don't believe that that is down to a Lewis Hamilton that's lost any skill, any talent or any ability.
"Going to a Ferrari on the up would be so much of a motivating powerful force and a challenge for Lewis and that is what he loves," said Priestley, who worked with Hamilton at McLaren, and other F1 greats such as Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Fernando Alonso and the like.
Priestley: Lewis wants to leave Mercedes on a high
Hamilton's departure from Mercedes invariably led to a discussion about how troubled Toto Wolff's team are since the phenomenal 15 F1 World Titles they won in a decade of dominance. On the topic, Marc ventured: "It's very difficult at Mercedes this year for everybody there, not just Lewis for everybody.
"Lewis has been there before and he's dug himself out of these moments. He's turned things around and he's gone on to have further success after some really disappointing times. I think the Ferrari move that's on the horizon is the thing that will keep his motivations alive if he needs anything, a little dangling carrot, you know, this is it.
"At the same time, he also wants to leave Mercedes on a good note, he will not give up fighting for a team that he genuinely loves. And he's only going because he sees a real opportunity to be dressed in Red and live out the rest of that dream," added Priestley.
That would be Hamilton claiming his unprecedented eighth F1 title, and add to Ferrari's record 31 F1 World Championship titles (16 Constructors and 15 Drivers) as John Elkann builds another Dream Team for Tifosi.
Who is Marc Priestley?
- 1995 left Kent College with BTEC National Diploma – Motor Vehicle Engineering
- 1995-1996 Tangent Motorsport mechanic
- 1996-1997 Ratrace Motorsport mechanic
- 1997-1999 Chas Berger Motorsport mechanic
- 1999-2000 Speedsport Formula 3 Number 1 mechanic & Orbit Motorsport Formula 3000 senior mechanic
- 2000-2001 McLaren test team Number 2 mechanic
- 2001-2006 McLaren race team Number 2 mechanic
- 2007 McLaren race team Number 1 mechanic
- 2008 McLaren race team chief mechanic
- 2009 McLaren Project leader and Co-ordinator
- 2009 Joined Motor Sport Vision as Race Team Co-ordinator & Team Manager
- 2010 freelancing in various roles including consultancy, public speaking and occasional GP2 mechanic
- 2013 became TV pundit and part of Sky F1 team
2012 interview with Marc Priestley on GRANDPRIX247. Read it here>>>
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