Lewis Hamilton has described his decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari in 2025 as one of the hardest of his life, after the British driver made the most striking move in the Formula One driver market this century.
The seven-time world champion has agreed a multi-year deal with the Scuderia that means he will leave Mercedes at the end of this season. The 39-year-old, who has driven for Mercedes since 2013 and this year will enter his 12th season with the team with whom he has won six world championships, said it had been a hard choice but one he believed was correct.
“Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old,” he said. “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. But the time is right for me to take this step and I’m excited to be taking on a new challenge.”
The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, who joined the team the same year as Hamilton and has forged a close friendship with him, accepted the decision even while it must have been hugely disappointing for the whole team. “Lewis will always be an important part of Mercedes history,” he said. “However, we knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point and that day has now come. We accept Lewis’s decision to seek a fresh challenge and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate.”
Hamilton, in turn, paid tribute to the team which has helped him enjoy an unprecedented scale of success, including the most wins with 103 and equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven titles. “I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto for his friendship and leadership and I want to finish on a high together,” he said. “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.”
The driver has been linked with a move to Ferrari in the past but has repeatedly said he would stay with Mercedes, suggesting he would see out his career with the team and then take on an ambassadorial role. In August last year he signed a new two-year deal with the team for 2024-25. The second year included a release option which he has activated to enable him to join Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. A statement from Ferrari read: “Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract.”
