[ad_1]
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 replacing Carlos Sainz the following year.
– Unlapped: How to listen to or watch ESPN’s new F1 show
Hamilton, 39, signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes last year but exercised a release option that allowed him to walk away from the team after just one season.
Hamilton said leaving Mercedes “was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make.”
He added: “It is the right time to take this step and I am excited to take on a new challenge. I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto (Wolff, Mercedes team principal) for his friendship and leadership and I want to finish together at the top.
“I am 100% committed to delivering the best performance I can this season and making my final year with the Silver Arrows unforgettable.”
Ferrari, F1’s most successful team and the only one to have competed in every season of the world championship, has not won a drivers’ title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
Hamilton, tied with 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 would become the first driver to win championships with three different teams since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957.
Rumors of Hamilton joining Ferrari have been common throughout his career, but Thursday’s news still seemed to come out of nowhere: ESPN was told that even Mercedes was caught off guard, which is reflected in the fact. that they have not yet confirmed a driver to replace him.
ESPN sources confirmed the news of Hamilton’s trade Thursday morning. Ferrari president John Elkann, known to be a long-time admirer of Hamilton’s skill, wanted Ferrari to add a renowned driver as Charles Leclerc’s partner in the future.
Leclerc recently signed a contract extension until at least 2026; Elkann’s ambitions now explain why Ferrari had been slow to do something similar with Sainz.
Leclerc has been with Ferrari since before joining F1 but, despite building a reputation as the sport’s fastest qualifier, doubts remain over his ability to win a championship, having made a series of low-profile mistakes. pressure.
Ahead of 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 continued to pursue the signature. from Hamilton even after he agreed an extension with Mercedes and negotiations intensified. towards the end of the year and until January.
Vasseur worked with Hamilton when he won the GP2 (now Formula Two) title in 2006 with the ART team and the two have remained on good terms since then.
Until Thursday’s announcement, Hamilton seemed happy to end his career with Mercedes, the team he joined in 2013 in what has been considered one of the best driver moves in recent times.
Hamilton won six of his seven world titles with the team in the most dominant period in F1 history, which saw Mercedes win the constructors’ championship eight times in a row between 2014 and 2021.
After being controversially denied an eighth drivers’ title on 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 Mercedes needed the best six months of development in F1 history just to catch up to the dominant Red Bull team.
Mercedes looked set to face the future with the core of its team united: team boss Toto Wolff recently signed a three-year extension, while Hamilton’s teammate George Russell is under contract until the end of 2025.
The identity of Hamilton’s replacement will now be a major talking point for next season.
“We knew our partnership would come to its natural end at some point, and that day has arrived,” Wolff said. “We embrace Lewis’ decision to seek a new challenge and it is exciting to contemplate our opportunities for the future.”
Williams driver Alex Albon, who enjoyed an outstanding 2023 and is a good friend of Russell, appears to be a strong candidate.
Sainz is considered more likely to sign with Audi’s incoming F1 project in 2026, although he may now be a left option for Mercedes as they look to fill the void.
“Following today’s news, Scuderia Ferrari and I will part ways at the end of 2024,” Sainz said in a statement. published in X.
“We still have a long season ahead of us and, as always, I will do my best for the team and for tifosi around the world.
“News regarding my future will be announced in due time.”
Daniel Ricciardo, who will ride for new Red Bull Visa Cash App RB junior team this year, is also likely to be linked to the seat, although he has made it clear he wants to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2025.
Greater attention will now be paid to the progress of Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will compete in Formula Two this season. The Italian teenager, who signed a development deal with Mercedes rather than Ferrari, has been tipped as a future star of the sport but a promotion in 2025 could be considered too soon.