Pablo Montoya senses a Lewis Hamilton title challenge with Ferrari, but for such success to happen, urges Ferrari to “build a car around” the seven-time World Champion.

Hamilton has achieved record-breaking success as a Mercedes driver, winning six of his record-equalling seven World titles with the Silver Arrows since joining in 2013. But, he has only six race weekends remaining as a Mercedes driver before heading off to Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton ‘huge threat’ title tease as Ferrari switch looms
Hamilton’s blockbuster Ferrari move was announced ahead of the F1 2024 campaign, as the Brit looks to return to the title picture as he continues to chase that record eighth crown.

And Montoya believes Hamilton can become a title-challenging force at Ferrari.

“I think we’ll see the Lewis of old,” Montoya predicted to Gambling Zone.

“He’s going to be out with a revenge to prove everybody wrong and show everybody they were wrong about him.

“I think if everything lines up, I think Lewis can be a huge threat for a championship.”

Ferrari has not tasted title success since their 2008 Constructors’ Championship triumph, while Kimi Raikkonen was their last Drivers’ Champion in 2007. But, if they want to end the drought with Hamilton, then Montoya says Hamilton must be the one driving development of the car.

Hamilton will have Charles Leclerc as his team-mate, Leclerc a graduate of the Ferrari Driver Academy who has raced for the Scuderia since 2019.

“If Ferrari really wants to succeed, they really need to listen to what Lewis needs and build a car around him that Lewis wants,” said Montoya.

And in a positive note for Hamilton, Leclerc has expressed his belief that an F1 2025 title challenge is possible for Ferrari, with better to come from F1 2026 and beyond when the new chassis and power unit regulations arrive.

“Yes. It is. That will be the headline!” Leclerc replied when asked by The Race and ESPN if it is realistic for Ferrari to challenge for the F1 2025 title.

“Obviously it is a constant process that keeps evolving and the goal is to always make it better.

The Round of 12 opened with another spoiler as Ross Chastain took the checkered flag at Kansas. The field then raced into Talladega where yet another non-playoff driver stole all the glory with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. winning the race. This means no one got to automatically advance into the Round of 8 via a win this round, but that doesn’t mean no one is locked in.

William Byron actually earned enough points over the last two races to clinch a spot mathematically, so he has nothing to worry about at Charlotte. While not technically locked in, Christopher Bell at +57 and Kyle Larson at +52 are in a really strong spot to move forward. You will be seeing these drivers in the Round of 8 which is interesting, as all three made the Championship 4 last year.

After his cautious approach backfired at Atlanta, Denny Hamlin did it again at Talladega, but this time, it paid off in a huge way. When over half the field crashed on the backstretch, he was nowhere near the chaos and gained a mountain of points as a result. He now enters Charlotte +30 to the cut-line and just needs to avoid any catastrophic setbacks this weekend. Alex Bowman at +26 and Ryan Blaney at +25 are in similar positions. Collect some stage points, finish the race, and everything should be okay. However, history tells us that it never ends up being that easy.

Regular season champion Tyler Reddick is just +14 points above the elimination zone and NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver is in the same boat. Chase Elliott is sitting on the bubble at +13. And remember, it doesn’t matter how many points you have if any of those four drivers below you go and win the race. As the bubble driver, you will be out.

Fortunately for Elliott, he’s not only won at the Roval but he’s the only active driver to have won it more than once. Reddick is also a very capable road racers with the second-highest average finish at the Charlotte Roval, as well as race wins at COTA, the Indy RC and Road America. At the end of the day, they may be racing each other on Sunday. Should a Briscoe or Cindric find their way into the lead and the drivers above these two don’t get into trouble, you have to avoid being the driver on the chopping block. Because of this, Elliott and Reddick will be keeping an eye on each other, just as much (if not more) than those behind them.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is celebrating his landmark 50th birthday on Thursday, October 10. NASCAR’s social media playfully suggested that chugging 50 beers would be the ideal way for the Hall of Famer to commemorate the occasion.

Birthday wishes poured in from across the NASCAR industry for Dale Jr., with NASCAR’s official social media cheekily proposing a 50-beer challenge to mark the day. The post included a nod to the former Hendrick Motorsports driver’s 2014 victory lane moment at Martinsville Speedway, where he joked about celebrating the win by drinking a lot of beer.

“50th birthday means 50 beers, right @DaleJr ? “the caption on NASCAR’s X post read referring to when Dale Jr said on Martinsville, “We’re gonna drink a lot of beer tonight! That’s what’s going to happen.”

Earnhardt Jr. is one of the most celebrated drivers of the sport, having won the NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver award 15 times between 2003 and 2017. The 50-year-old has never shied away from expressing his love for beer, and shared a laid-back moment after his Bristol Xfinity race, enjoying beers with friends and family on pit road.Dale Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt co-owned JR Motorsports joined in the birthday celebrations by playfully suggesting they were cracking open a cold one in his honor. The team’s light-hearted post was a fitting tribute to their bossman, as they marked his milestone 50th birthday in true Dale Jr. fashion.

“Crackin’ open a cold one in celebration of this special day. Happy Birthday @DaleJr!” they captioned it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has taken time off from his weekly podcasting duties to relax and spend his 50th birthday weekend with his wife, Amy, and their two children, Isla and Nicole. On his podcast, Dale Jr. Download, he expressed a desire for a low-key celebration, despite the milestone birthday.