"Call it instinct or a gut feeling": Lewis Hamilton opens up on his decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton recently revealed that switching from Mercedes to Ferrari was a leap of faith for him. However, his instincts and gut feeling were strong as he deemed the switch as the right one to explore new challenges.

Hamilton is widely recognized as one of the most successful drivers in F1 for his achievements during his Mercedes stint. He won six world championships to leave an unprecedented legacy in the sport.

However, the fairytale story came to an end in 2024 as the 40-year-old made a historic switch to Ferrari. He parted ways with Mercedes after 11 years and bowed out with an emotional farewell.

Meanwhile, Hamilton addressed his thoughts behind the move and explained why Ferrari felt like the right career choice. Talking to LinkedIn, he said:

"Ultimately, every new opportunity is a total leap of faith. None of us can predict the future, so changing jobs, or in my case teams, is always going to come with some level of risk. But I believe there's more of a risk in staying somewhere you're comfortable and in getting complacent."

"Call it instinct or a gut feeling, but I knew that signing with Ferrari was the right move for me and that it would give me the challenge I needed. There are so many incredible people on the team that I can't wait to work with, and I have total faith that we'll achieve great things together."

Lewis Hamilton made a similar move to Mercedes back in 2013. He had won a championship with McLaren while the Silver Arrows were still in the rebuilding phase. However, that leap of faith turned into a historic association.

Hamilton is in search of his eighth championship title, which could help him edge past Michael Schumacher to become the driver with the most titles in F1.

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Lewis Hamilton's first radio message with Ferrari went viral

Lewis Hamilton Tests For Ferrari (Image Source: Getty)

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton made his debut test run with Ferrari on January 22. He took the F1-75 model for a spin at the Fiorano track. However, his ride only lasted 30 laps due to dense fog around the circuit.

Meanwhile, Ferrari released the footage of the first radio message Hamilton received from his race engineer, Ricciardo Adami. When Adami asked for a radio check, Hamilton responded saying (via Planet F1):

“Wow! Whew! Hehe. It’s a… wow, that was amazing.”

Hamilton has had a busy week since landing in Maranello on January 20. He did a factory tour, met the team, and did his test run at Fiorano. He is likely to do a second test in Barcelona, though the schedule is yet to be confirmed by Scuderia Ferrari.