Seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, will leave the Mercedes team at the end of the 2024 season, ahead of his move to Ferrari next year. News of Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes broke on Thursday, catching fans of the sports by surprise. Even none of the F1 fans were surprised by the news, seeing as a lot of people remember the Hamilton-Mercedes partnership, which has lasted for over a decade now.
What made the news all the more surprising was that the British driver signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes last year, which was meant to cover the 2024 and 2025 season. So, even if Hamilton was eventually going to leave Mercedes, a lot of people expected it to happen when his present contract expires, which is at the end of 2025. But it turns out the contract has a clause that could allow him leave after one year, and he has chosen to activate the clause.
The next thing fans are wondering is, why Ferrari? Not like there was any other team that Hamilton could move to. But the fact that he is not only leaving Mercedes but joining Ferrari means there is something on the other side, but we do not know what yet. For now, there are no details about the new contract, except that it is multi-year. There are also no details on how much he was offered with the new contract since this move is historically one of the biggest – definitely top three or all-time – in the history of F1.
However, the move to Ferrari was not entirely out of the blue. Last year, Hamilton met with Ferrari and had some talks with them, with the team denying that they talked about a contract. Now, it seems they may not have been entirely honest.
Another thing to ponder is the timing. Why would Hamilton be leaving now? He won six world championships with Mercedes and solidified his legend with that team. So, why will he want to leave now? The answer to that may lie in issues with Mercedes and Hamilton’s quest for one more world title.
Since the 2021 season, Mercedes’s performance has been subpar, and Hamilton has not won a race in the last two years. He has often complained about the car and what should be fixed, but it seems Mercedes is currently in a spot where they cannot provide a good solution to their car issues until the 2026 season, when new regulations kick in.
So far, Ferrari has been one of the few teams that has won races in the past two years besides Red Bull. The Italian team looks like it has what it takes to give Hamilton his eighth title, which is the main reason why he would be going there, and he would team up with Charles Leclerc, who recently renewed his contract.
That is all we know so far. As the season progresses, more news will come regarding Hamilton and Ferrari and what we can expect ahead of 2025.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
