In a significant shake-up for Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton is poised to switch from Mercedes to Ferrari for the 2025 season.
Despite being under contract with Mercedes until the end of 2025, Hamilton will exit the team after the upcoming 2024 season, replacing Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, according to information obtained by Sky Sports News. An official announcement is expected by Thursday.
Mercedes’ Brackley staff will be briefed on the development this afternoon ahead of a public declaration. When approached by the media, both Ferrari and Mercedes opted not to comment.
Following a contract renewal with Ferrari last week, Charles Leclerc is set to be Hamilton’s teammate starting next year.
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, holds the record for the most wins in F1 history, totalling 103 victories and 104 pole positions, a feat only matched by Michael Schumacher‘s seven titles.
Since joining Mercedes in 2013 from McLaren, Hamilton has clinched six world championships with the team. Despite speculation about a move to Ferrari this year, he renewed his contract last summer alongside teammate George Russell, extending his stay until the end of 2025.
The upcoming 2024 F1 season is scheduled to start with the Bahrain Grand Prix from February 28 to March 2.
Background on Hamilton and Ferrari
Hamilton’s connection to Ferrari has been speculated on various occasions since he began his F1 career with McLaren in 2007.
After securing his first world championship with McLaren in 2008, he moved to Mercedes at the end of 2012, creating the most successful partnership in F1 history with 82 wins.
Following the contentious 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton has struggled to compete at the front, especially with Red Bull‘s dominance post-2022 regulation changes, leading to a winless 2022 and 2023.
Last year, Hamilton engaged in discussions with Ferrari, though team principal Frederic Vasseur mentioned that no contract was extended to Hamilton then.
In a May 2023 interview with ESPN, Hamilton expressed:
“I’d be lying if I said I’d never thought about ending my career anywhere else. I started at McLaren, I’d like to think I’ll always be a part of the McLaren family, I started there when I was 13 years old, so I thought about what it would look like if I was at McLaren one day.
“I thought about and watched the Ferrari drivers on the screens at the track and of course you wonder what it would be like to be in red… But then I go to my team, to Mercedes, and this is my home. I’m happy where I am. I haven’t signed a contract yet, but we are working on one.”
Reaction to Hamilton’s move to Ferrari
Craig Slater from Sky Sports News had this to say:
“We have heard nothing officially, only ‘no comment’ from Ferrari and Mercedes. I’ve been in touch with both teams via official channels.
“But, multiple senior sources within F1 have explained to me that this is a done deal already. I’m absolutely confident this is going ahead.
“What I also know is Mercedes staff have been summoned to a meeting at Brackley at 2pm this afternoon, where I understand they’ll be informed that Hamilton will be leaving them at the end of this season and joining Ferrari for 2025.
“The expectation is we’ll get some kind of official announcement by the end of play today – that’s what I’m waiting on.
“It’s so hard to finish a sporting career. Lionel Messi has maybe had the World Cup to top it off with, but how difficult is it to exit the stage when you’ve had this glittering career at the top?
“What does Lewis Hamilton do to top off this masterpiece? Certainly a couple of years in red, following in the footsteps of Michael Schumacher, could he win the eighth world title?
“Schumacher won five of his seven with Ferrari – that would really top it off.”
Source: Sky Sports F1
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