In a truly remarkable twist to F1’s silly season, the seven-time World Champion is poised to join the Italian giants next year.
Things kicked off on Wednesday evening with cryptic posts from Will Buxton and Italian journalists on Twitter, suggesting something was in the air in regards to Ferrari. It seemed like the initial news was about Carlos Sainz leaving, as confirmed to Pit Debrief.
However, it quickly emerged overnight and into the morning European time that Lewis Hamilton was in talks to join the Scuderia for 2025.
After quite a drawn out process, Hamilton agreed a new two-year contract with Mercedes last year. But it has turned out that there was an option in his contract for the 103-time Grand Prix winner to exit at the end of 2024.
Over the years there has been many rumours that Hamilton could join the Scuderia, but they were mostly made up stories. This time it is going to be happening as a deal has been agreed.
It’s been a stunning period for Hamilton at Mercedes. Since joining the team in 2013, he has won 82 races and taken six Drivers’ Championships, becoming the sport’s most successful driver in the process with 103 wins overall and seven championships. The 39-year-old also holds the record for most pole positions.
But with his career on track coming towards its finish, the Brit has been lured by Fred Vasseur to join the Scuderia and wear the iconic Ferrari race suit for at least one season.
Toto Wolff and James Allison will be holding a team briefing at Brackley this afternoon to confirm the news that Hamilton is leaving Mercedes heading to Ferrari at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign, first reported by BBC Sport. Official confirmation is expected to come after that.
According to a source, Hamilton informed Wolff about his decision on Wednesday. The Brit is seeking a ‘new challenge’ following a 17-year career in F1 so far that has included Mercedes at every single race since the 2007 Australian Grand Prix. Mercedes supplied engines to McLaren during Hamilton’s six seasons at Woking.
Another key factor according to RacingNews365 is Loïc Serra joining the Scuderia. The Frenchman had spent 13 years at Mercedes from 2010-2023. He was the team’s performance director since 2018, while he was head of vehicle dynamics when Hamilton signed for Mercedes in 2013.
As for Carlos Sainz, his future has just taken a big twist. Red Bull, Aston Martin, Sauber (who become Audi in 2026) and Williams have been linked to the Spaniard before this news even broke. 2024 will be his fourth and final season with the Scuderia.
