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In what’s going to certainly go down because the transfer of the last decade, seven-time System 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has reportedly agreed to make a shock swap from Mercedes-AMG Petronas to Scuderia Ferrari for the 2025 season. The information has been picked up by a number of credible shops, together with Autosport and Sky Sports activities.
The Briton, who will flip 40 subsequent yr, is about to associate star driver Charles Leclerc, who himself simply agreed to a multi-year cope with Maranello final week. He’ll exchange Carlos Sainz Jr, who appears to be like increasingly more prone to make the much-anticipated transfer to Stake F1 Workforce (née Sauber) – forward of it turning into the Audi works crew at the beginning of latest rules coming in 2026.
Hamilton remains to be contracted to Mercedes till the tip of 2025, however it seems that the second yr of the deal he signed final yr was merely an possibility for him to take up.
As but, it’s unclear if Hamilton has really signed the undoubtedly profitable contract, with reporting starting from superior talks set to conclude by the tip of the week to it being a carried out deal, solely awaiting an official announcement later right this moment. For his or her half, Mercedes and Ferrari have declined to touch upon these rumours, however as they are saying, there’s no smoke with out hearth…
The information first originated by Italian and Spanish media earlier right this moment, BBC Sport wrote, including that it has since verified the transfer as being a “severe risk.” It additionally said that, in accordance with sources, Mercedes will maintain a crew assembly at 2:00 pm GMT (10:00 pm native time) with boss Toto Wolff and technical director James Allison, prone to announce that Hamilton is leaving.
Hamilton loved an unprecedented interval of dominance with Mercedes throughout the sport’s turbo hybrid period, claiming six of his seven championships and eight constructors’ titles with the crew. However Brackley dropped the ball with the present floor impact guidelines cycle and has gained only one race (Brazil 2022) previously two years, with Hamilton not profitable since his riveting – and extremely contentious – 2021 title battle with Max Verstappen.
Regardless of his seemingly unshakable loyalty to Mercedes, Hamilton has lengthy been linked to a transfer to the Cavallino Rampante, regardless that either side have performed down these rumours. On the floor, there’s little or no upside to becoming a member of Ferrari, which fumbled its personal title problem in 2022 and narrowly misplaced second to Mercedes final yr.
However the crew mounted a late surge in 2023 that included the one non-Pink Bull win in Singapore – mockingly with Sainz on the helm – hinting that it could be on the cusp of turning the nook. Plus, the attract of driving for the crew in pink (and ending a title drought that stretches to 2008) must not ever be underestimated, even for probably the most profitable driver in F1 historical past.
It’s odd {that a} crew would make a driver announcement this early within the previous yr, nevertheless it’s not unprecedented. You solely need to look again to 2020, when it was confirmed Sebastian Vettel was getting kicked out of the Scuderia in 2021 – all whereas the game (and the world) was nonetheless within the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One factor’s for certain – as a lifelong Ferrari fan, I want a lie down…
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