Lewis Hamilton attends the Dior Fall 2023 Menswear Show.Photo:Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty
Lewis Hamiltonis shifting gears from Mercedes to join Ferrari for the 2025 Formula One season.
The decorated F1 driver, 39, made the announcement alongside Mercedes on Thursday, when the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team revealed that it would be parting ways with Hamilton at the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Scuderia Ferrari then shared in a Thursday statement that the driver will “bejoining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract.”
“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,” Hamilton continued. “But the time is right for me to take this step and I’m excited to be taking on a new challenge.”
Hamilton also noted that he “will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially [CEO Toto Wolff] for his friendship and leadership and I want to finish on a high together.”
“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,” he concluded.
Lewis Hamilton.BRYN LENNON/POOL/AFP via Getty
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According to Mercedes, Hamilton “activated a release option in the contract announced last August,” effectively ending “a 17-year long relationship in F1 with Mercedes-Benz and an 11-year long partnership with the works team.”
Hamilton previously signed a two-year contractwith Mercedes lastsummer.
“In terms of a team-driver pairing, our relationship with Lewis has become the most successful the sport has seen, and that’s something we can look back on with pride; Lewis will always be an important part of Mercedes motorsport history," Mercedes Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff said in a statement.
“However, we knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come,” he added. “We accept Lewis’s decision to seek a fresh challenge, and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate. But for now, we still have one season to go, and we are focused on going racing to deliver a strong 2024.”
After news broke of Hamilton’s Mercedes departure,ESPNreported that the team itself was caught off guard, noting that Mercedes had yet to confirm a replacement for their star driver. Citing sources, the outlet also reported that Ferrari chairman John Elkann continued to pursue Hamilton even after he extended his contact with Mercedes last year.
As for what else is happening in the world of Ferrari,Charles Leclerc signed a contact extensionlast month, declaring that he would be “wearing the Scuderia Ferrari race suit for several more seasons to come.”
The Formula One season kicks off in Bahrain on Feb. 29.
source: people.com
