25 May 2023 , 06:00
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Charles Leclerc will most likely be an "insurance policy" for Mercedes if they lose Lewis Hamilton at the end of this season.
Ted Kravitz made that assertion as he discussed the reported £40m contract offer being prepared by Ferrari in a bid to sign the Brit. Hamilton's contact expires this year and, despite assertions from both sides that a new deal will be signed, negotiations are yet to yield such an outcome.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Kravitz made it clear he does not foresee Hamilton leaving the Silver Arrows for Ferrari. But, in the event that move does happen, he believes Mercedes' preferred backup plan would be to make sure Leclerc comes the other way.
"I mean, Mercedes need an insurance policy if Lewis decides to either stop or leave," the experienced pit lane reporter said. "At the moment, that policy looks like Charles Leclerc, until they wait for their juniors – Kimi Antonelli, who looks like is going to be a champion of the future, is a Mercedes junior."
In order to convince Hamilton to leave, though Kravitz thinks Ferrari are going to have to up their offer. The alleged £40m figure would represent a small wage drop compared to what he is currently earning and the Sky reporter thinks it may take double that to tempt the seven-time world champion to leave the nest he has made at Mercedes.
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"I think the £40m offer is a bit of a low-ball offer for Lewis Hamilton," Kravitz said. "It's probably £5m less than what he's on at the moment – and is something Mercedes are going to offer as part of not only the remainder of his driving career, but also a longer-term association with the Mercedes brand which is valuable to Lewis.
Could Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc swap seats? (Getty Images)"Number two, I think Ferrari are offering everybody a job for anything at the moment. Everyone is on Ferrari's shopping list becauseFred Vasseursays he is going to put together a crack team of amazing people aroundCarlos Sainzand Charles Leclerc to make them realise this is incredible. They offeredAdrian Neweya job with big money!
"They are after the best and the biggest in Formula 1 at the moment as they seek to rebuild so it shouldn't be a surprise if they offer Lewis Hamilton everything. If it was £80m that [Ferrari chairman] John Elkann had said then that would get people's attention.
"I don't think he's likely to go, maybe if he wins the elusive eighth at Mercedes once they get the car right eventually then potentially he might go and see if he can win another one with Ferrari but he may be into his 40s by then."