Ferrari’s new Formula 1 recruit Lewis Hamilton says he is driven by the same “feeling” in making the move as he was when he originally joined Mercedes in 2013.
Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 F1 season, halfway through what was originally announced as a two-year contract extension, in order to don Scuderia red.
A social media post on Saturday from the seven-time champion marked not quite the first time he’s addressed the move publicly – as he was already quoted in the Mercedes press release announcing his impending exit – but certainly provided a much more detailed look into his thinking.
Hamilton described the stretch that included the signing and its announcement as “a crazy few days which have been filled with a whole range of emotions”.
“I feel incredibly fortunate, after achieving things with Mercedes that I could only have dreamed of as a kid, that I now have the chance to fulfil another childhood dream. Driving in Ferrari red,” he wrote.
And after paying tribute to his Mercedes team, the brand, the late team advisor Niki Lauda and team principal Toto Wolff, and describing the decision as “the hardest I’ve ever had to make”, Hamilton drew a parallel between the move he was embarking on now and his decision to swap McLaren for Mercedes in 2013.
Back then, he had gone from a frontrunning team that finished third in the previous year’s standings to something of a rebuilding project. But it paid off famously, with McLaren entering a long fallow period just as Hamilton left and Mercedes kicking off a run of spectacular dominance once the hybrid engine regulations came into force in 2014.
Now, like then, Hamilton is making his move a year ahead of a major engine regulations change.
“I still remember the feeling of taking a leap of faith into the unknown when I first joined Mercedes in 2013.
“I know some people didn’t understand it at the time but I was right to make the move then and it’s the feeling I have again now.
“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 focussed than than ever and I want to help Mercedes win once again.”
