Izuchukwu OkosiLewis Hamilton is expected to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari from the 2025 F1 season, it was confirmed on Thursday evening.
Hamilton, seven-time F1 champion, has spent over 25 years with Mercedes when the company were an engine supplier for his former team McLaren.
The F1 movement dominated most sporting headlines in the United Kingdom and Hamilton described it as the most difficult decision he has had to make as he replaces Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.
Hamilton clarified why the move was the best decision at the time: “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 now for me to take this step and I’m excited to be taking on a new challenge.
“I will be forever grateful to the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto [Wolff, team principal] 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.”
Toto Wolff said: “In terms of a team-driver pairing, our relationship with Lewis has become the most successful the sport has seen, and that’s something that 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.”
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
Follow Us