- After switching teams from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton won six of his seven championships with the Silver Arrows, setting a record with 103 race wins.
The seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton stunned the motorsports community when he announced he would be joining Ferrari at the end of the season. Ferrari had made attempts to sign Hamilton before to his most recent contract renewal with the Silver Arrows.
It wasn’t until the end of August that Hamilton and Mercedes finalized a two-year deal. The 39-year-old British driver’s new contract features a release provision that allows him to join Ferrari in 2025, according to Mercedes, which was activated on Thursday.
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“I am incredibly pleased of what we have accomplished as a team, and I have had an incredible 11 years with this group. Since I was thirteen years old, Mercedes has been a part of my life, Hamilton stated in a team statement. “That’s It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make to leave the place where I had grown up. However, I’m eager to take on a new challenge and I feel that the time is appropriate for me to make this move.
Following his 2013 switch from McLaren to Mercedes, Hamilton won six of his seven championships with the Silver Arrows. His 103 race wins set a record in Formula One, but his last triumph came in the season’s penultimate race in 2021, as Mercedes has been unable to match rival Red Bull’s new car’s speed.
Hamilton’s move was first reported early on Thursday, but the teams didn’t respond to the rumors until later in the day. After Hamilton and team principal Toto Wolff eventually confirmed Hamilton’s departure, Mercedes released a statement. Shortly after, Ferrari released a statement announcing that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025 for a number of years.
After that, current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. made a statement. He had been negotiating a contract extension, but they appeared to be at a standstill at the close of the previous year.
“Scuderia Ferrari and I will be splitting up at the end of 2024 due to the news that was announced today,” Sainz wrote. We still have a long season ahead of us, but I promise to give it everything I’ve got for the squad and the Tifosi everywhere. I will eventually make an announcement regarding my future.
Hamilton’s tenure at Mercedes will come to an end with George Russell, his current teammate. Charles Leclerc, who in December agreed to a long-term agreement, will be his teammate at Ferrari.
By the time Hamilton moves into a uniform in black and red to symbolize Ferrari. His last championship came in 2020, and he was on his way to a record-breaking eighth victory in the season finale of 2021 when a contentious finish saw Max Verstappen win. Since then, Verstappen has won three straight titles, and Red Bull has overtaken Mercedes as the leading Formula One team.
Ferrari, on the other hand, has not taken home a drivers’ championship since Kimi Räikkonen of Finland did it in 2007.