The End of an Era
By Jamie Lee
Seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton will be joining Ferrari for the 2025 season, the team announced on Thursday.
In a shocking twist, seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton is parting ways with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team at the end of the 2024 season and replacing Carlos Sainz Jr. at Ferrari in 2025.
“Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract,” Ferrari confirmed in a press releaseThursday.
Over 11 years with Mercedes, Hamilton claimed 82 victories and six championships.
In a press release from Mercedes, Hamilton said, “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.”
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO of Mercedes said, “In terms of a team-driver pairing, our relationship with Lewis has become the most successful the sport has seen, and that’s something we can look back on 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.”
This news comes after a slump in performance from Mercedes over the last two years. 2022 and 2023 marked the first years in Hamilton’s career that he did not achieve a win.
In 2020 Hamilton made history by earning a seventh world championship, equaling the great Michael Schumacher. Schumacher claimed five titles under the Ferrari flag.
Ferrari is the most successful Formula 1 team in history with 16 constructors' titles, 15 driver's titles and 243 victories, but they have not claimed a title since 2007 with Kimi Räikkönen.