Confirmed: Lewis Hamilton will move to Ferrari in 2025

Lewis Hamilton shakes the Formula 1 world with the announcement that he will race for Ferrari in 2025 and that he will leave Mercedes

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Lewis Hamilton will make a sensational move to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula One season on a multi-year deal, the Italian team confirmed on Thursday.

Hamilton, a seven-time world champion and winner of a record 103 races, will drive for Mercedes next season before being replaced by Carlos Sainz next year.

Hamilton, 39, signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes last year but exercised a release option, allowing him to leave the team after just one season.

Hamilton said that leaving Mercedes was “one of the hardest decisions I have ever made.”

He added: “The time has come to make this step and I’m excited to take on a new challenge. I will always be grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially the friendship of Toto (Wolf, Mercedes Team Principal) And the leadership and I want to reach the top together.

“I am 100% committed to giving my best performance this season and making my final year with the Silver Arrows an unforgettable one.”

Ferrari, F1’s most successful team and the only team to compete in every season of the world championship, has not won the driver’s title since Kimi Räikkönen in 2007.

Hamilton, who has equaled Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher with seven titles, now has the chance to end the Italian team’s drought and become F1’s most decorated champion in the process.

If he achieves this, he will become the first driver since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957 to win the championship with three different teams.

Rumors of Hamilton joining Ferrari have been common throughout his career, but Thursday’s news still came out of nowhere: ESPN was told Mercedes were not even alert, which is reflected in the fact. That they have not yet confirmed the driver and replace it.

ESPN sources confirmed news of Hamilton’s trade Thursday morning. Ferrari chairman John Elkann, a longtime admirer of Hamilton’s skills, wanted Ferrari to add a famous driver as a future partner to Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc recently signed a contract extension until at least 2026; Elkann’s ambitions now explain why Ferrari was slow to do something similar with Sainz.

Leclerc has been with Ferrari since before he joined F1, but despite building a reputation as the sport’s fastest qualifier, doubts remain over his ability to win the championship after he made a series of low-profile mistakes . Pressure.

Before last year’s Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton and Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur laughed off reports that the British driver was close to signing with the team, but sources say Elkann continues to pursue a signature. kept. Even after agreeing to an extension with Mercedes, further talks with Hamilton intensified. By the end of the year and until January.

Vasseur worked with Hamilton when he won the GP2 (now Formula Two) title with the ART team in 2006 and the two have maintained a good relationship ever since.

Until Thursday’s announcement, Hamilton seemed happy to end his career with Mercedes, the team he joined in 2013 in what is considered one of the best driver moves in recent times.

Hamilton won six of his seven world titles with the team during the most dominant period in F1 history, with Mercedes winning eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships between 2014 and 2021.

After being controversially denied an eighth drivers’ title in the final lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton failed to claim a single victory in 2022 or 2023.

Last year he said that Mercedes needed the best six months of development in F1 history to catch up to the dominant Red Bull team.

Mercedes looked ready to face the future by uniting its entire team: team boss Toto Wolff recently signed a three-year extension, while Hamilton’s teammate George Russell is under contract until the end of 2025.

Identifying Hamilton’s replacement will now be a major discussion topic for next season.

“We knew our partnership would reach its natural end at some point, and that day has come,” Wolff said. “We acknowledge Lewis’s decision to seek a new challenge and it is exciting to consider our opportunities for the future.”

Williams driver Alex Albon, who performed brilliantly in 2023 and is good friends with Russell, appears to be a strong candidate.

Sainz is more likely to sign with Audi’s upcoming F1 project in 2026, although he could now be a left-back option for Mercedes as they look to fill the void.

Daniel Ricciardo, who will ride for the new Red Bull visa cash app RB Junior team this year, is also likely to be linked with the seat, although he has made it clear that he wants to replace Sergio Pérez at Red Bull in 2025 Are.

Now more attention will be paid to the progress of Mercedes’ junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will compete in Formula Two this season. The Italian teenager, who has signed a development deal with Mercedes rather than Ferrari, has been seen as a future star of the sport but promotion in 2025 may be too soon to be considered.