What to Know
- This is one of the most lucrative F1 contracts in history.
- The potential payoff for both sides is astronomical if a championship is achieved.
- The last driver to end a Ferrari championship drought was Michael Schumacher in 2000.
In a surprise move, seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is set to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari, the most storied team in the sport, next year on a multi-year contract.
The announcement came down just over a month before the start of the new season, which begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 2. It was easily the biggest news F1 has seen for more than a decade.
Why is Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari?
The move comes after a few years of dissatisfaction with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. The British driver activated a release option in his contract last year which was an indication that he was looking for a new challenge.
The F1 start is chasing his eighth world championship and Ferrari fits in his place, in case they win a championship, to become the first driver in history to win a world title with three different teams.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Hamilton has been part of the Mercedes F1 team since he was 13 years old. He joined the team in 2013 and won six titles with Mercedes in seven years from 2014-20.
Sports
“Leaving was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made, but the time is right for me to take that step. I am excited to be taking a new challenge,” Hamilton said.
Scuderia Ferrari's last championship was with the former German driver Michael Schumacher in 2000.
Schumacher was the team's first driver's title in more than two decades before going on to win four more times.
Who is Lewis Hamilton replacing on Ferrari?
The British driver is replacing Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr., whose future is uncertain at this time. Sainz's contract expires at the end of the 2024 season.
The rumors in the padlocks are that Red Bull boss Christian Horner would not mind pairing up the Spaniard with its No. 1 driver Max Verstappen.
Sainz has already been a part of the Red Bull family and the word in the grid is that he won't mind driving for 2025 with the Austrian team.
When is Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes?
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Hamilton will part ways at the end of the 2024 season.
“Lewis will always be an important part of Mercedes motorsport history. However, we knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come," Mercedes team manager Toto Wolff said in a statement. “We accept Lewis’s decision to seek a fresh challenge, and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate."
Charles Leclerc & Lewis Hamilton
The newest powerful teammates in the grid in 2025. Hamilton joins forces with Charles Leclerc, which will make for arguably the most talented driver lineup on the grid.
F1 put a special throwback on their social media of when Leclerc was just a development driver for Haas.
“Lewis is such an incredible driver, has achieved so much in the sport. So I think anybody on the grid would love to have Lewis as a teammate, as everybody would learn a lot from him,” adds Leclerc.
Hamilton will finish his run at Mercedes alongside current teammate George Russell. He will be teammates at Ferrari with Leclerc, who in December agreed to a long-term extension.
"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,” Hamilton said Thursday in his statement." Said the British driver.
Hamilton's last championship was in 2020 and he was close to a record-breaking eighth title in 2021 until a controversial finish gave the title to Verstappen, who has since gone on to win three consecutive titles as Red Bull has surpassed Mercedes as the top team in F1.
