On Feb. 1, Ferrari announced in a team statement that they had signed seven time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton to a multi-year contract that would begin during the 2025 season. The move comes as a result of a release clause in the British driver’s contract with Mercedes AMG F1 Team, which he activated to join the Italian team. Hamilton joined Mercedes back in 2013 and would go on to win six of his seven world titles with the team, equalling the record seven world titles set by Michael Schumacher with none other than the same Ferrari team that he will be joining.

This is not the first time Hamilton has made a seemingly shocking career move in Formula 1. After winning a world championship in just his second season with McLaren in 2008, and achieving numerous race wins in the seasons following, Hamilton would announce a surprise move to Mercedes, a team that had been struggling to gain traction in the middle of the pack. 

However, following a regulation change in 2014, the move would pay off massively for Hamilton, with Mercedes shooting up to the front of the grid and dominating the sport for almost an entire decade. The story would not be the same for McLaren as they would fall to near the back of the grid following a return to Honda engines, and have not fully recovered since then, even after switching to Renault, and later Mercedes power units.

In a similar way, the move from Mercedes seems to be from a dominant team to a struggling one. While Ferrari are frequent race winners, they have not had a driver win the world championship since Kimi Raikkonen did so in 2007, nor have they won a constructors championship since 2008, the same year Hamilton won his first drivers title with McLaren. 

What Hamilton really gains from driving for Ferrari, however, is the prestige of driving for the team from Maranello. Ferrari has a history in Formula 1 of nothing but success, stretching all the way back to the sport’s founding in the 1950s. Not only that, but the Ferrari brand is synonymous with success across a large number of motorsport categories. It is also a brand known for their luxury road cars. Hamilton himself stated in his first social media post since announcing the move that he has “the chance to fulfill another childhood dream: driving in Ferrari red.”

Hamilton will be replacing current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who now finds himself with no team for the 2025 season. However, a performance similar to the one he put up last season, finishing seventh out of 20 in the drivers standings; winning a race in Singapore and scoring 200 points, should easily find the Spanish driver a new team to join. 

Hamilton’s new teammate, Charles Leclerc, has long been touted as the next great driver for Ferrari, and has signed a multi-year deal with the team, cementing his place at Ferrari for the foreseeable future. This Leclerc-Hamilton lineup could be the stepping stone that launches Ferrari into a championship contending position, much like Hamilton’s move to Mercedes did many years ago.

This move by Hamilton is not set to take place until the 2025 season, giving the 39-year-old one final season with Mercedes this year in 2024. Hamilton stated in part that he remains committed to the team and is determined to help them win again this season before he wears the red overalls of Ferrari for the first time. 

“However, right now, I’m not thinking about 2025. My focus is on the upcoming season and getting back out on track with Mercedes. I am more driven than ever, I am fitter and more focused than ever and I want to help Mercedes win once again. I am 100% committed to the job I need to do and determined to end my partnership with the team on a high.”

As for Mercedes, there is now a coveted seat open at the German team, and whoever takes the place of Hamilton (as Mercedes have not yet announced a replacement) will have massive shoes to fill. It is safe to say that this move is one of the biggest moves in the history of the sport, and no matter what happens, this will be a landmark move that will mark a changing of the guard period in Formula 1.