Lewis Hamilton will quit Mercedes at the end of the year and join Ferrari in one of the biggest Formula One driver moves in history.
The 39-year-old legend will fulfil a lifelong dream by driving for the iconic Italian marque, a potential eighth world championship to surpass his childhood idol Michael Schumacher too tempting to pass up.
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Hamilton only re-signed with Mercedes last August on a two-year contract that has now been confirmed to have had a release option in his favour.
“I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I’m so proud of what we have achieved together,” he said in a statement.
“Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old. 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.”
Ferrari subsequently confirmed their new signing with the briefest statement: “Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract.”
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Seven-time champion Hamilton will hope to break the record he shares with Schumacher while driving for Ferrari. Credit: Getty
The switch, which forces Carlos Sainz to leave Ferrari at the end of the year, reunites Hamilton with his former junior team boss Fred Vasseur and creates perhaps the strongest driver pairing on the grid alongside Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton has been linked with Ferrari numerous times across his year, holding talks with the team in 2019 before speculation renewed prior to re-signing with Mercedes last year.
Ferrari’s championship credentials have wavered for years but Hamilton has gambled on Schumacher’s old team to lead him to more glory before he retires.
“It’s definitely going to be crazy to think that I never drove for Ferrari, because for everyone that’s a dream position to be in,” he said in 2021.
Hamilton began his F1 career with McLaren in 2007 and won his first title the following year.
The Briton made one of the most shrewd moves in the history of the sport when he jumped ship to Mercedes — replacing the retiring Schumacher — ahead of the 2013 season.
New regulations in 2014 ushered in an era of Mercedes dominance as Hamilton won six titles in seven years.
He narrowly missed out on winning the championship again in 2021, in a controversial shootout with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and Mercedes have been on a downturn ever since.
Hamilton had won a race in every year of his career prior to going winless in 2022 and 2023 while Mercedes struggled to adapt to another shift in the sport’s regulations.
The partnership will now end after 24 more grands prix this year.
Hamilton will race well into his 40s at Ferrari. Credit: AP
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he would look back on their successes with pride.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Hamilton said he will be “forever grateful” to Mercedes and “especially Toto for his friendship and leadership”.
“I want to finish on a high together,” he said.
“I am 100 per cent committed to delivering the best performance I can this season and making my last year with the Silver Arrows one to remember.”
Meanwhile, Sainz said news about his future in F1 “will be announced in due course”.
The Spaniard will likely come into calculations for Mercedes to replace Hamilton but the team must also look ahead to when star junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 17, might be ready to enter the top level.