Ferrari’s new Formula 1 recruit Lewis Hamilton says he is driven by the same “feeling” in the move he did when he first joined Mercedes in 2013.
Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 F1 season, halfway through what was initially announced as a two-year contract extension, in order to put the Scuderia in red.
A social media post on Saturday from the seven-time champion marked not the first time he had publicly addressed the move – as already mentioned in Mercedes’ press release announcing his impending departure – but it certainly provided a much more detailed look into his thinking .
Hamilton described the stretch involving the signing and her announcement as “a crazy few days that were filled with a whole range of emotions.”
“I feel incredibly lucky, having achieved things with Mercedes that I could only dream of as a child, to now have the opportunity to fulfill another childhood dream. Driving a red Ferrari,” he wrote.
And after paying tribute to the Mercedes team, the brand, late team adviser Niki Lauda and team principal Toto Wolff, and describing the decision as “the hardest I’ve ever had to make”, Hamilton drew a parallel between movement he made. starting now and his decision to swap McLaren for Mercedes in 2013.
Back then, he had gone from an upstart team that finished third in the previous year’s standings to something of a rebuilding project. But it paid off handsomely, with McLaren entering a long fallow period just as Hamilton left and Mercedes embarking on a spectacular run of dominance once the hybrid engine regulations came into effect in 2014.
Now, as then, Hamilton is making his move a year ahead of a major change in engine regulations.
“I still remember the feeling of taking a leap of faith into the unknown when I first joined Mercedes in 2013.
“I know some people didn’t understand it at the time, but I was right to make the move then and it’s the feeling I have again now.
“However, at the moment, I’m not thinking about 2025. My focus is on the upcoming season and getting back on track with Mercedes.
“I’m more driven than ever, I’m fitter and more focused than ever and I want to help Mercedes win once again.”
Says Agonas
Scott Mitchell-Malm
You can see the parallels between Hamilton’s Ferrari bomb and his shock move to Mercedes in first place – the surprise, the size of the decision, the prospect of letting a long-term partner gamble on what on the surface doesn’t look like obvious racing improvement .
But this is still a step further. A bigger breakup because at least then it had a degree of continuity given that Mercedes was part of that long-term support of McLaren.
He also had a large part of his career ahead of him, so he had more time to do well. And he was really moving from one UK team to another – he wasn’t uprooted in the same way as now.
There are also more differences. He is towards the end of his driving career now, going to a team where the current driver is young, popular and extremely fast. And even if Ferrari build a stunning 2025 car and adhere to the 2026 regulations, it’s unlikely that Hamilton will have enough time on his side to repeat the longevity of his Mercedes tenure, so the likelihood of him repeating the area of Mercedes his success is low.
That’s why it’s easy for others to not understand why he’s doing this, as many didn’t a decade ago. Hamilton describes it as “a leap of faith into the unknown”, but he had good reasons for doing it – and the same applies now.
If she is rewarded with wins and maybe even that elusive eighth title, then she has undoubtedly come out competitive. It might be another case of him having the right feeling at the right time, making a move that ends up with success that he wouldn’t have had he stayed put.
But there are other factors that make it clearly right for him. He will be handsomely rewarded as a driver – there are suggestions of a huge salary that Mercedes was unwilling or unable to match. He seems to be getting a long term deal that he wasn’t going to get from Mercedes. And if there was any sense that Mercedes was doubting him, Ferrari and John Elkann seem to have made him feel extremely wanted.
Don’t underestimate this. Even F1 superstars and biggest politicians are human and feeling love is a long way off. We saw it with Fernando Alonso and now we see it with Hamilton.
There also seems to be a real commitment from Ferrari to give Hamilton everything he wants and needs beyond being a racing driver – whether that’s being a long-term ambassador or supporting his various projects outside of F1, committed to diversity and inclusion initiatives and in the implementation of wider social change. Mercedes has been a great ally in this regard, but Ferrari seems willing to continue the project and even invest in its further development.
Hamilton will get a huge amount from his Ferrari deal, inside and outside of it. And while the move might not make a whole lot of sense to some watching from afar, if Hamilton is getting even half of what’s being rumored, he’s not going to be bothered at all.