It's Official! F1 Great Lewis Hamilton to Race for Ferrari in 2025

Lewis Hamilton delivered one of the most stunning driver moves in Formula 1 history today by signing for Ferrari for 2025 on a multi-year contract.

The deal, confirmed late Thursday in Europe, aligns Formula 1’s most decorated driver with its most successive and evocative team, while also ending the most prolific driver-team partnership in history, in a seismic Formula 1 move.

Hamilton will pair with Charles Leclerc, who last week renewed a long-term arrangement to stay at Ferrari.

News of the shock move first emerged from Italian media early on Thursday before being confirmed later in the day, with official notification of his Mercedes exit followed by Ferrari’s announcement.

Hamilton, 39, made his Formula 1 debut in 2007 and has raced for only two teams, McLaren and Mercedes, switching to the Silver Arrows in 2013.

Hamilton is Formula 1’s most successful driver, with 103 wins, and seven world titles, though has not won a race in two years amid Mercedes’ struggles in the current regulatory cycle.

Hamilton had signed a two-year extension in August 2023 to stay with Mercedes through 2025, and previously made clear he was confident in the team’s recovery, amid its new design concept for 2024.

But Hamilton’s contract had an exit clause, which he has now activated, and he will leave the team at the conclusion of the 2024 season to join Ferrari.

Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari for 2025 leaves Carlos Sainz without a seat while also opening a vacancy at Mercedes alongside the contracted George Russell.

The End of An Era

Hamilton’s impending departure will bring to a close the most successful partnership between a driver and a team in Formula 1 history.

Hamilton, Formula 1’s biggest star, had previously spoken of spending his entire career at Mercedes, remaining an ambassador for the brand long into his eventual retirement.

He has driven a Mercedes-powered car throughout his Formula 1 career, having spent six seasons at McLaren before joining the official works team.

That move came in 2013, as Mercedes began to improve, allowing Hamilton to claim victory in Hungary, before overhauled regulations in 2014 kick-started a new era.

Mercedes dominated Formula 1 under new engine regulations, holding a sizeable advantage over the rest of the opposition, with Hamilton dueling for the title with team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton claimed titles in 2014 and 2015, before losing out to Rosberg in 2016, after which the German retired from Formula 1.