Lewis Hamilton to join Ferrari for 2025 F1 season

Mercedes released a statement that read: "The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Lewis Hamilton will part ways at the end of the 2024 season.

"Lewis has activated a release option in the contract announced last August and this season will therefore be his last driving for the Silver Arrows."

The seven-time F1 world champion had previously signed a contract with Mercedes for 2024 and an option for 2025. But it has now been confirmed that Hamilton will leave the team at the end of the 2024 season and join Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc.

The decision comes amid a series of difficult seasons for Mercedes, and Ferrari have finally managed, after years of trying, to convince Hamilton that it can offer him the best chance of scoring that elusive eighth world championship.

Hamilton said: “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.”

It means Carlos Sainz will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season. Charles Leclerc signed a new multi-year contract in January to tie him to Maranello for the foreseeable future, and Sainz’s current deal will now not be renewed.

Sainz said: "Following today's news, Scuderia Ferrari and myself will part ways at the end of 2024.

"We still have a long season ahead of us and, like always, I will give my absolute best for the team and for the Tifosi all around the world. News about my future will be announced in due course."

Who will replace Hamilton at Mercedes?

In recent months, both Hamilton and Mercedes had indicated the Brit would finish his career at the Brackley-based team. Hamilton, however, has long suggested he would be keen to race for Ferrari, and he has clearly decided the time is right to finally make that move.

It leaves Mercedes with a huge hole to fill in its own driver line-up, and one of the most sought after F1 seats on the grid.

A statement from Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff read: “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.”

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.