Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes, confirmed as Ferrari driver for 2025 season

Lewis Hamilton will make a sensational move to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula One season on a multiyear contract, the Italian team confirmed on Thursday.

Hamilton's current contract with Mercedes was due to expire at the end of 2025 but he will depart the team after this season and replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.

Hamilton, 39, signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes last year but exercised a release option to allow him to walk away from the team after just one season.

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

The 39-year-old, who has driven for Mercedes since 2013 and this year will enter his 12th season with the team with whom he has won six world championships, said it had been a hard choice but one he believed was correct.

“Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old,” he said. “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.”

The seven-time world champion is the most successful driver in F1 history with 103 wins and 104 pole positions. Michael Schumacher is the only other driver with seven world titles.

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