Formula One expert David Croft says Lewis Hamilton’s late-career move to Ferrari represented his best chance to win a record eighth world title.

It came as Croft’s co-commentator Karun Chandhok said Hamilton’s decision to don Ferrari’s famous racing red had created a fresh wave of excitement ahead of his Australian Grand Prix debut.

Albert Park will host seven-time world champion Hamilton’s debut for The Prancing Horse when he takes to the track at the season-opening Grand Prix in Melbourne.

His move to Ferrari comes after 12 trophy-laden seasons with Mercedes, but success has been harder to come by for Hamilton in recent years, with Red Bull star Max Verstappen winning the past four titles.

Croft hailed the pairing of Hamilton and Ferrari as a “match made in heaven” and his partnership with Charles Leclerc could only be a positive for the Scuderia.

“There’s nothing like having a fresh challenge when you’re 40 and if life does begin at 40, it begins at Ferrari for Lewis Hamilton and what better place to begin a new life?” Croft told The West Australian.

“This year is Lewis’s best chance to win an eighth world title because of the stable regulations, because Ferrari got it right towards the end of last year, and because I think they will throw everything and the kitchen sink at winning the title this year.

“Whilst others might have to think a little bit about 2026 and reining back on this year and not developing as much as they would like to, Ferrari will be the one to say ‘no, we need that title, we owe it to Charles and Lewis, so we’ll keep pressing ahead.’”

Croft’s co-commentator and former Hispania Racing and Lotus F1 driver Karun Chandhok agreed.

“Everywhere I’ve walked, gone to the supermarket, the coffee shops, the first question is ‘how do you think Lewis is gonna go at Ferrari?” Chandhok told The West Australian.

“There’s just so much excitement among F1 fans for Lewis at Ferrari.”

Croft did say there would be challenges as Hamilton adapted to the new team, but was confident he would overcome them.

“He’s got to deal with a Ferrari engine for the first time in his career, he’s never raced anything in Formula One that hasn’t been made by Mercedes, so that is a big challenge.

“But with every new job, and everyone can relate to this, there come challenges you do with a smile on your face, you’ve gone there because you want to go there, and you are also buoyed by the fact your new employer wants you there as well.

“Ferrari put their faith in Lewis, Lewis has put his faith in Ferrari, and they will push like crazy to get a good job done.”

Chandhok said it remained to be seen whether the second half of 2024, where Red Bull slipped back to the pack after years of dominance, would be indicative of this year.

“I don’t think it’s so much of which Red Bull are we going to get, it’s a question of have they stopped the slump?” he said.

“They really heavily relied on the brilliance of Max Verstappen to win them the driver’s championship — Max was the best driver last year, there’s no doubt in my mind about that.

“But he was fortunate that at the start of the year, he had a 60-point lead over Lando (Norris), and if he didn’t have that start, he wouldn’t have won the championship, so I’m sure he will be reminding the team of that pretty regularly. They can’t muck about.”

Croft said McLaren star Norris, who had his best season on the grid en route to eight podium finishes, four Grand Prix wins and a second-place finish in the standings, had a better chance at usurping Verstappen than last year.

“He’s a better chance than last year, because I’m expecting his car to be on a par with the leading cars, if not the best car right from the start,” he said.

“Max will start this season in exactly the same way he starts every other season: full of confidence, raring to go, and knowing he is probably the in-form driver, the best driver on current form on that grid.

“That doesn’t mean he can’t be beaten, that if he takes his foot off the gas, others won’t make life very difficult for him.

“In the case of Lando, it was very encouraging to hear him talk about how what happened in 2024 gave him the realisation he was good enough to fight for a title in 2025.

“We maybe see a more elbows-out Lando Norris from the start of this year.”

Croft and Chandhok are returning to Perth to talk all things Formula One for a show at the Regal Theatre on March 17, and a show at Nikola Estate in the Swan Valley the following day.

It is the fourth year in a row Croft has visited Perth, and he said he always looked forward to his visit out west to chat racing with the masses.

“We’ll put (Chandhok’s) ‘Karunapedia’ knowledge to the test, we’ll have a few fun and games and we’ll do a proper debrief on what happened at Albert Park the day before,” Croft said.

“I’ve known Karun for a long time and we’ve been mates for a long time and he is one of the nicest guys you could ever wish to spend two hours with on stage.

“It is less a show, and more a pleasurable evening spent chatting with my mate and a few hundred other mates as well.”