Karun Chandhok thinks Lewis Hamilton had "some inkling" that Mercedes would struggle this season before agreeing to leave for Ferrari.
The Silver Arrows have suffered their worst start to a Formula 1 campaign since 2012 with just 26 points from the first three races. For Hamilton, who secured just eight of those, it is his worst-ever beginning to an F1 season.
Before the first race he had already agreed to leave for Ferrari in 2025. Amid the doom and gloom of his current predicament, Sky Sports F1 pundit Chandhok thinks the Briton will be "comforted" by the fact he has his new adventure to look forward to.
He said: "[Hamilton] knows he's probably not going to win the world championship this year unless there is a miraculous turnaround, so he might as well look to the future. And, at the moment, the Ferrari is a better package than the Mercedes."
Ferrari have more than triple the number of points than their Mercedes rivals and are hot on the heels of championship leaders Red Bull. At the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago, they secured a one-two finish with Carlos Sainz taking victory.
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Both the Spaniard and team-mate Charles Leclerc are much happier with their new Ferrari cars than they were with their 2023 machines. And that progress bodes well for Hamilton who hopes his move to Italy can give him the chance to win an eighth title before he retires.
Chandhok thinks Hamilton may have known that Ferrari were on a quicker path back to the top than his current team. The Indian former F1 racer added: "The timing of his decision, it couldn't have been out of nothing. The timing suggests he had some inkling that it wasn't going to be great, so, 'I might as well take the chance to try something new'.
"If he thought Mercedes were going to give him a car that would win him the championship this year and in 2025, I don’t think he would have left. We all know what happened with Max's retirement, but I imagine Lewis took a little bit of satisfaction at seeing the Ferrari one-two."
Even before his DNF in Melbourne, Hamilton was struggling for pace and to feel comfortable in his car. But, after a rain-soaked first day of practice at Suzuka ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, the seven-time F1 champion was much more upbeat about his W15 machine.
He said: "It was a great session, the best session we've had this year and the best the car has felt this year so far. It felt really positive - exciting. Given the difficult last few races we've had, great work has been done in this past week and we have seemed to hit the ground in a bit more of a sweeter spot."
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