By Joiner Martínez
01 Feb 2024, 17:00 PM EST
The Ferrari team confirmed this Thursday the hiring of the English driver Lewis Hamilton, starting in 2025 and with a multi-year contract.
Hamilton, 39, had a contract with Mercedes until the end of 2025, but activated his exit clause because he could not fight for the championship in 2022 and 2023.
He also did not win any races, something unprecedented in his campaign. Seconds after confirming his departure, the Italian team made the signing official: “Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will join the team in 2025, with a multi-year contract.”
Team Statement
Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract. pic.twitter.com/moEMqUgzXH
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 1, 2024
Hamilton said leaving Mercedes “was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make.”
He added: “The time has come to take this step and I am excited to take on a new challenge. I will always be grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto [Wolff, director del equipo Mercedes] for your friendship and leadership and I want to finish together on a high.
“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.
Mercedes said goodbye to Lewis Hamilton
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.
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and Lewis Hamilton will part ways at the end of the 2024 season. Lewis has activated a release option in the contract announced last year.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 1, 2024
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.
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