Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has signed a multi-year deal to drive for Ferrari starting in 2025, the teams announced Thursday. The move brings an end to Hamilton’s trophy-laden 11-year partnership with Mercedes.
Hamilton activated a release clause in his Mercedes contract to pave the way for the blockbuster transfer. Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff expressed pride in his squad’s record with Hamilton, which included six constructor’s championships, but said he respected the British driver’s decision to “seek a fresh challenge.”
“We knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come,” Wolff said.
Hamilton downplayed talk of a Ferrari switch over the years and signed a two-year Mercedes extension last August. But he will trade silver for Ferrari red in what he called “one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make.”
“The time is right for me to take this step and I’m excited to be taking on a new challenge,” Hamilton said.
Charles Leclerc recently penned his own Ferrari extension, meaning Hamilton is likely to slot alongside Carlos Sainz next season. Hamilton vowed to make 2024 his last in a Mercedes car “one to remember” as he chases a record-setting eighth world title with the team that gave him his Formula One break as a teenager.
Hamilton’s departure leaves massive shoes for Mercedes to fill as the team searches for a driver who can continue their dominance in the constructor’s championship. As for Ferrari, they will be banking on Hamilton’s veteran experience and winning mentality to break their lengthy drivers’ title drought.
The motivation behind Hamilton’s move remains unclear. Perhaps mid-career restlessness or an irresistible offer from the famed Italian squad proved too tempting to pass up. Regardless, the 2025 Ferrari car will carry enormous expectations with the greatest qualifier in F1 history now in the cockpit.
Before the tremors from this bombshell transfer fully reverberate, Hamilton and the rest of the racing fraternity have a full season left to run, beginning under the lights at Bahrain on February 29. And you can bet the Mercedes ace is hungrier than ever to exit stage left with an unprecedented eighth world championship.
