I wonder. The billionaire owner might have promised Newey he'd be the big boss but this is still planet earth. AM is (so far) a team that makes progress and then drops to the back. The impact of Newey is dampened by only having one good driver. But it's hard to deny Alonso: designers should have bigger impacts than drivers. (Assuming you have competent talent that can stick the car where it belongs.)

Oh definitely. Especially in combo with Alonso. Hamilton going to Ferrari mostly looks like a PR stunt to bring in some cash for both sides.

Is Hamilton known for any other impact than driving the car fast? It was my understanding that in the Roberg/Hamilton days of Mercedes Hamilton was faster on average, but it was mostly Rosberg's feedback that drove the development forward. And at Ferrari it's yet to see if he's even able to drive faster than Leclerc.