By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@F1.
It’s now confirmed – seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes and join Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season on a multi-year deal.
Following rumours of the move, Hamilton will join Charles Leclerc and Fred Vasseur to try and end Ferrari’s Championship drought. Ferrari are the oldest, most glamorous and successful team but without a driver’s title since 2007.
Team Statement
Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract. pic.twitter.com/moEMqUgzXH
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 1, 2024
Hamilton said he was “so proud” of the success he had achieved in 11 years with Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion added: “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.”
“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.”
Team principal Toto Wolff said the pairing of Mercedes and Hamilton “has become the most successful the sport has seen”.
“And that’s something we can look back on with pride,” he added.
“We knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come,” Wolff said. “We accept Lewis’s decision to seek a fresh challenge, and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate.”
Hamilton, tied with Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher with seven titles, now has a chance to end the Italian team’s drought and move clear as F1’s most decorated champion in the process.