Ferrari officially announces Lewis Hamilton signing for 2025

The news that shocked the motorsport world is now official — it’s Hammer Time in Maranello.

The Formula 1 world was shocked Thursday morning with news that F1 legend and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was set to make the jump to Scuderia Ferrari, and now, that news has been confirmed by both parties.

Both Ferrari and Mercedes have released statements confirming that Hamilton will race one more year with the Silver Arrows before heading to the Prancing Horse in 2025. Hamilton is set to replace Carlos Sainz, who has been at Ferrari since 2021.

Both Hamilton and Mercedes principal Toto Wolff released statements on the matter, with neither mentioning Ferrari by name but regardless remaining appreciative for the time with Mercedes. Additionally, both stressed that while the move is set to be complete in 2025, Hamilton and Wolff will push together for the 2024 season.

Here is what Wolff had to say about the move, per the statement from Mercedes:

“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. We accept Lewis’s decision to seek a fresh challenge, and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate. But for now, we still have one season to go, and we are focused on going racing to deliver a strong 2024.”

And here is what Lewis Hamilton wrote, mirroring the statement in many ways:

“I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I’m so proud of what we have achieved together. 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. I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto for his friendship and leadership and I want to finish on a high together. I am 100% committed to delivering the best performance I can this season and making my last year with the Silver Arrows, one to remember.”

Ferrari, meanwhile, made a very succinct statement, though and interesting one — the team revealed on social media that it signed Hamilton to a “multi-year contract”, thus tying him down in Maranello for more than one year. How long exactly that is remains to be seen, but it means that this is not simply a retirement campaign for Hamilton — he’s here to compete.

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