"Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team" - The Italian marque confirms the arrival of F1 legend in 2025

Ferrari has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will join the team in 2025. After an entire day of speculation where news of a possible switch for the Mercedes driver away from the team broke out of nowhere, it was finally announced that the driver was going to leave.

Lewis Hamilton has been part of Mercedes for 11 years now and the driver will complete his 12th year in 2024. The Brit joined the team in 2013 after a move from McLaren. At the time, the move surprised many. Within a year, however, it became clear that the move had merit.

Lewis Hamilton spearheaded Mercedes' dominance from 2014 to 2020 only to lose out to Max Verstappen on the final day in 2021. Since then, the driver and the team have been going through a rough spell. Hamilton has not won a single race since then while the team has not fought for a title in the last two years. Last year, the 39-year-old announced an extension of his deal with Mercedes.

This was precisely why it came as a surprise that Ferrari's Fred Vasseur was able to lure Lewis away from the German outfit. After Mercedes released its statement, Ferrari followed and announced that Lewis Hamilton had signed a multi-year contract that begins in 2025. The report read:

"Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract."

---

Lewis Hamilton thanks Mercedes while looking forward to the next chapter with Ferrari

In the Mercedes press release, Lewis Hamilton thanked Mercedes and shared how proud he was for the success that the team had achieved. Stressing the importance of looking for a new challenge, the driver 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."

He added:

"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.”

The driver will replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari who announced his departure from the team via social media.