Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025
Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes following the 2024 season and will join Ferrari on a multi-year contract in 2025, the teams announced Thursday.
Hamilton, who signed a two-year extension with Mercedes last year, activated a release option in his contract to sign with Ferrari.
"I have had an amazing 11 years with this team, and I'm so proud of what we have achieved together," Hamilton said in a statement. "Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old. It's a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. But the time is right for me to take this step, and I'm excited to be taking on a new challenge."
Hamilton's switch to Ferrari is one of the most significant driver moves in Formula One history and arguably the biggest since Hamilton spurned McLaren to join Mercedes for the 2013 season.
The 39-year-old captured six drivers' championships with Mercedes since his arrival in 2013. Despite the upcoming parting of ways, Hamilton said he's committed to ending his final year positively.
"I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto (Wolff) for his friendship and leadership, and I want to finish on a high together," Hamilton said. "I am 100% committed to delivering the best performance I can this season and making my last year with the Silver Arrows one to remember."
The seven-time world champion will replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, with the Spaniard's contract set to expire after the 2024 season. Hamilton will drive alongside five-time race winner Charles Leclerc, who Ferrari signed to a long-term extension in January.
Hamilton will join the Maranello-based team with the opportunity to capture a record-breaking eighth world championship. He's currently tied with Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher, who won five of his seven drivers' titles with the Prancing Horse from 2000-04. However, Ferrari hasn't produced a world champion since Kimi Raikkonen 17 years ago.
Hamilton will also reunite with Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur. The British driver won an F3 Euro Series championship and a GP2 (now known as Formula Two) title driving for Vasseur's teams.
Ferrari had long been rumored to have pursued Hamilton and was reportedly willing to offer him a £40-million deal last year.
His departure from Mercedes comes after two disappointing efforts by the Brackley-based outfit since F1 debuted new ground-effect regulations. Utilizing a radical car concept that contained no sidepods in 2022, Hamilton finished sixth in the drivers' championship as Mercedes struggled with porpoising and bouncing. Mercedes retained the concept to begin the 2023 campaign before debuting a new design in Monaco. Hamilton placed third in the standings - only behind the two Red Bull drivers - last season and secured a pole position in Hungary.
However, Hamilton is still searching for his first race victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Hamilton is F1's all-time leader in wins (103) and poles (104).