Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari for 2025 Formula 1 season
Lewis Hamilton will join Ferrari next year and replace Carlos Sainz in a shock move; Hamilton signed a two-year contract with Mercedes which expires at the end of 2025 but he will spend just one more season with the team
The British driver activated a release clause in his Mercedes contract, and Ferrari confirmed on Thursday evening that the seven-time world champion is joining them on a “multi-year” deal.
Mercedes employees in Brackley were informed of the news earlier on Thursday afternoon before the official announcement from the team.
Charles Leclerc signed a new contract with Ferrari last week and will be Hamilton’s team-mate at Ferrari from next year.
The seven-time world champion is the most successful driver in F1 history with 103 wins and 104 pole positions. Michael Schumacher is the only other driver with seven world titles.
Hamilton, who has not won a race since December 2021, joined Mercedes in 2013 from McLaren and has won six world titles with the team.
He was linked to Ferrari for this year but signed a new two-year contract last summer, along with Mercedes team-mate George Russell, to stay until the end of 2025.
The new 2024 F1 season begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix from February 29 to March 2 – live on Sky Sports F1.
Hamilton’s past links to Ferrari
Hamilton has been linked to Ferrari several times since his F1 career started in 2007 with McLaren.
He won his first world championship with McLaren in 2008 but left at the end of 2012 to join Mercedes, where he has formed the most successful team-driver partnership in F1 history with 82 victories.
However, since the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton has rarely fought at the front of the pack as Red Bull got on top of the new 2022 regulations and Mercedes fell behind.
He failed to win and take pole position for the first time in 2022 and continued his winless streak in 2023.
The 39-year-old most recently held talks with Ferrari last year, after previous links during his time at Mercedes, but team principal Frederic Vasseur claimed the Italian outfit never offered him a contract.
Hamilton told ESPN in May 2023: “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.”
Leclerc has been at Ferrari since 2019 and Hamilton will be his third team-mate at Scuderia, having partnered Sebastian Vettel for two seasons and Sainz since 2021.
Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari for 2025 Formula 1 season
Lewis Hamilton will join Ferrari next year and replace Carlos Sainz in a shock move; Hamilton signed a two-year contract with Mercedes which expires at the end of 2025 but he will spend just one more season with the team
The British driver activated a release clause in his Mercedes contract, and Ferrari confirmed on Thursday evening that the seven-time world champion is joining them on a “multi-year” deal.
Mercedes employees in Brackley were informed of the news earlier on Thursday afternoon before the official announcement from the team.
Charles Leclerc signed a new contract with Ferrari last week and will be Hamilton’s team-mate at Ferrari from next year.
The seven-time world champion is the most successful driver in F1 history with 103 wins and 104 pole positions. Michael Schumacher is the only other driver with seven world titles.
Hamilton, who has not won a race since December 2021, joined Mercedes in 2013 from McLaren and has won six world titles with the team.
He was linked to Ferrari for this year but signed a new two-year contract last summer, along with Mercedes team-mate George Russell, to stay until the end of 2025.
The new 2024 F1 season begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix from February 29 to March 2 – live on Sky Sports F1.
Hamilton’s past links to Ferrari
Hamilton has been linked to Ferrari several times since his F1 career started in 2007 with McLaren.
He won his first world championship with McLaren in 2008 but left at the end of 2012 to join Mercedes, where he has formed the most successful team-driver partnership in F1 history with 82 victories.
However, since the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton has rarely fought at the front of the pack as Red Bull got on top of the new 2022 regulations and Mercedes fell behind.
He failed to win and take pole position for the first time in 2022 and continued his winless streak in 2023.
The 39-year-old most recently held talks with Ferrari last year, after previous links during his time at Mercedes, but team principal Frederic Vasseur claimed the Italian outfit never offered him a contract.
Hamilton told ESPN in May 2023: “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.”
Leclerc has been at Ferrari since 2019 and Hamilton will be his third team-mate at Scuderia, having partnered Sebastian Vettel for two seasons and Sainz since 2021.
