Follow live reaction to the shock news that Lewis Hamilton is poised to quit Mercedes to join Ferrari ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season
(Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton poised to join Ferrari from Mercedes — latest
Mercedes and Ferrari battled for second in 2023 constructor standings
There wasn’t much to split Hamilton’s current team and his potential new one in the constructor standings last season, as they battled for second place behind runaway winners Red Bull.
- Red Bull – 860 points
- Mercedes – 409 points
- Ferrari – 406 points
- McLaren – 302 points
- Aston Martin – 280 points
- Alpine – 120 points
The end to an incredibly successful partnership?
Lewis Hamilton’s partnership with Mercedes will go down as one of the most legendary in the history of Formula 1.
Hamilton, 39, won six of his world titles with Mercedes in the space of seven years from 2014-20.
But the team have struggled over the the two seasons and Hamilton has not won a race since he was controversially denied a record eighth world championship in Abu Dhabi in 2021.
Wolff discussed Hamilton’s prospects at the end of the season
At the end of the 2023 season, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was asked about whether Hamilton is capable of winning an eighth driver’s championship — obviously, at that stage, he was still planning to have the seven-time champion in his own garage.
“If we’re able to give him a car, then he would be fighting for a World Championship, I have no doubt,” said Wolff. “It’s clear that when you have a Formula 1 car like we have now, you’re never at ease with it – you have good weekends and bad weekends.
“In the end, every time where we’ve seen that Lewis has someone in his target in front of him, and it was about winning the race, then the real Lewis comes alive, and I think we just need to give him that (opportunity).”
Who could Mercedes move for to replace Hamilton?
A seat at Mercedes is one of the most coveted positions in the paddock.
But a number of the sport’s biggest stars are already tied up for the 2025 season and beyond.
Mercedes would be looking for a replacement for Hamilton at the end of the season and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz would be looking for a new job.
But Max Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until 2027. Leclerc has signed a long-term deal with Ferrari and looks set to be Hamilton’s new team-mate. And Lando Norris has signed a similarly long deal at McLaren.
It’s also worth noting that Fernando Alonso, currently of Aston Martin, is out of contract at the end of the coming season…
How the transfer might have come to pass
The ramifications of any Hamilton move will be huge
The link-up between the most successful driver and most successful team in F1 history would go down as one of the biggest driver transfer shocks the sport has known.
It would see Hamilton race alongside Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in 2025, after the Monegasque driver signed a new long-term contract last week, leaving Carlos Sainz, a two-time race winner for Ferrari, without a seat.
The move would also kickstart the F1 driver market’s ‘silly season’ almost a month before the opening race in Bahrain, creating an opportunity for a coveted seat at Mercedes alongside George Russell.
GO FURTHER
Lewis Hamilton poised for shock Ferrari switch from Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton poised to leave Mercedes for Ferrari
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today’s dramatic Formula 1 news.
Lewis Hamilton, the most successful driver in the history of the sport, is poised to leave his current team, Mercedes, to join Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season.
Hamilton’s current contract with Mercedes is due to expire at the end of 2025 but he looks set to depart the team after this season and replace the Spaniard Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.
Stick with us for the latest reaction to this huge breaking news.
Read the full article here
