Lewis Hamilton Is Set To Make A Shock Switch From Mercedes To Ferrari, Turning Driver Market On Its Head

I woke up this morning thinking I was in for a pretty typical Thursday. What I didn’t expect was one of the biggest pieces of Formula 1 news to come across the wire in years: It’s not officially official yet, but seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is taking his talents to Marinello in 2025.

As I said, no word from Ferrari or Hamilton’s current team, Mercedes, yet. However, there is a flood of reports from reputable sources saying this is happening.

Lewis will replace Carlos Sainz, and according to Sky Sports, employees at Mercedes' factory have been told that 2024 will be Hamilton's final season with the team.

This comes after Charles Leclerc signed a new deal with Ferrari and Lando Norris re-upped with McLaren. Those moves set the "silly season" wheels in motion.

Man, the grid has stayed the same from 2023 to 2024, but it is going to be shaken up in a big way for 2025.

We talked recently about who Ferrari could put in that second seat and while I said there was no shortage of options, I didn’t see this one coming at all. Especially because Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes was known to run through at least the end of the 2025 season.

However, there is almost always a way out of these F1 deals, and it looks like Hamilton has one.

Lewis HAmilton's lack of enthusiasm about the direction of Mercedes' car development since the 2022 regulations came into effect is well-documented. (Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Could Hamilton's Unhappiness With Car Development Have Lead To A Ferrari Move?

But why would he want to leave Mercedes, a team he won six championships with and who finished ahead of Ferrari in 2023?

Well, we won’t know until he tells us, but it’s been well-documented that Lewis hasn’t exactly been pleased with the direction of the team’s cars ever since the regulations were overhauled in 2022. He hasn't won a race in two straight seasons, something that has never happened to him before.

The team’s initial "zero sidepod" concept in 2022 was a total misfire, and even when they addressed its shortcomings in 2023 with the W14, it still never gave Hamilton enough to challenge the dominant Red Bulls.

Sure, it was still one of the best cars on the grid and earned them P2 in the constructors' standings, but we’re talking about Lewis Hamilton here. The winningest driver in F1 history. That’s not going to be good enough for him.

So, then, why Ferrari?

Hamilton Has Long Been Linked To A Potential Ferrari Move

There’s always been a little bit of buzz about Hamilton being interested in moving to the team. Sure, they haven’t won a championship since Kimi Räikkönen won in 2007, but they were the only non-Red Bull team to win a race last year.

Plus, Hamilton raced for Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur’s ART Grand Prix in his GP2 days.

And you can’t discount the allure of throwing on the Scuderia’s Rossi Corsa. I mean, the list of greats who have done it: Schumacher, Fangio, Lauda (a mentor to Hamilton at Mercedes), Mansell, Andretti, Vettel, Alonso, and many, many more.

Because the F1 driver market functions like musical chairs, a Hamilton move opens up a seat at Mercedes. Who could they throw in it?

Honestly? Just about anyone they want.

A Lewis Hamilton departure makes George Russell the defacto team leader, a role he's more than ready for.  (Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Who Will Take His Place At Mercedes?

Carlos Sainz will be available, although there was buzz that Red Bull wanted to pair him with Max Verstappen. They could bring back Valtteri Bottas whose deal with Sauber is over after 2024.

There’s also Alex Albon who is highly-rated and has even been racing with a Mercedes lower unit in the back of his car down the pit lane at Williams for the past two seasons.

And those are just drivers currently on the grid. Mick Schumacher is already the team’s reserve driver, maybe they give him a shot to revive his F1 career at the same team his old man drove for from 2010 to 2012 before he retired for the second time and was replaced by… Lewis Hamilton.

Time is a flat circle, folks…

Another option would be for Mercedes to choose a driver in their development system. One that they could look to is highly touted Mercedes junior team driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

As F1TV's Will Buxton points out Antonelli will make his debut in F2 this season. If he has a solid season, he'll potentially have the necessary points for a super license and could slot right into Mercedes.

Whatever the case, Mercedes will want a semi-long-term driver for the team considering there will be new regulations coming in 2026, and maintaining a consistent line-up is beneficial for car development.

The team already has one top-tier driver in George Russell, and he seems more than ready to step into a lead driver role. In that sense, this may be as good a time as any for Mercedes to begin the post-Hamilton era.

With this major move out of the way, expect driver moves to start coming thick and fast.