Massive for the sport’: Lewis Hamilton’s blockbuster move to Ferrari hailed as a major coup for F1

Former Formula One drivers believe Lewis Hamilton’s blockbuster move to one of the most iconic teams in motorsport represents a major coup for the auto racing league.

Mercedes on Thursday confirmed that the seven-time world champion will join Ferrari in 2025 after activating a release option in his contract.

It will bring an end to a 12-year team-driver pairing for Mercedes and Hamilton, one that team principal Toto Wolff described as “the most successful the sport has seen.”

Now recognized as a global icon, Hamilton first signed with Mercedes in 2013 and went on to win six of his seven world titles with the team between 2014 and 2020.

An extraordinary run of success has since dried up, however, and Hamilton has not won a race since the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in Dec. 2021.

“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,” Hamilton said in a statement. “But the time is right for me to take this step and I’m excited to be taking on a new challenge.”

Ferrari
, meanwhile, released a short statement saying the team was “pleased” to announce Hamilton would join on a multi-year contract.

The news sent shockwaves through F1, with 2009 world champion Jenson Button saying he’d also been taken by surprise.

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.
– Jackie Robinson