F1 and motorsport legend Jacky Ickx has given Lewis Hamilton a "double plus" as he prepares for his move to Ferrari. Hamilton will formally join the Scuderia on January 1st, becoming the 98th different driver to race for the team in the world championship - with Ickx himself having done so for 54 of his 116 starts in grand prix racing. Ickx won all eight of his grands prix for Ferrari, dovetailing F1 with Le Mans, and going onto win the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic six times. Reflecting on Hamilton's move from Mercedes, the Belgian singled out Hamilton's off-track activities. "If you refer to Lewis, for me, he is a unique driver," Ickx exclusively told RacingNews365. "It is like [Ayrton] Senna, you have Max [Verstappen], you have Michael Schumacher and [Juan Manuel] Fangio in the early days - these people have a little plus compared to the others. "But to me, he is a double plus because he is a very human person who never feared to get involved in Black Lives Matter for example. "He is the only one I know today who involves himself totally in something, and maybe that quality is something even more impressive than the first one when you see what he does, what he cares about with his foundation. "Nobody has done that before."

Hamilton to Ferrari

Ickx, whose best finish in F1 was runner-up to Sir Jackie Stewart in 1969 and to the only posthumous world champion, Jochen Rindt in 1970 also ran the rule over Hamilton's move - believing his heart will be "tainted red." "I think if life is well made, and if you have the opportunity to do the things you like, it is easy because it does not work anymore," he observed. "But it is clear that if you are at Ferrari for a few years and then other brands for 10 years or more, if you speak Ferrari, clearly your heart is tainted red at the end. "I can see that even Lewis is attracted to be there for the end of his career. "Honestly, it is fantastic because only he knows what he can do and where he wants to go."

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