Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari move likely to be announced today as Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff set to address the team at Brackley

Lewis Hamilton is reportedly set to join Ferrari in the 2025 F1 season. The announcement of the move is likely to be made when Mercedes boss Toto Wolff addresses the team at the Brackley HQ later today.

Ferrari has shown great interest in Lewis Hamilton for a long time. The latter has, however, stuck to Mercedes since 2013, and won six world championships during their dominant years.

The Brit recently signed a two-year extension with the team till the end of the 2025 season. It seems now, however, that Hamilton will be opting out of the second year of that contract.

Reports have claimed that Lewis Hamilton will soon be joining Ferrari, and that an announcement is imminent later today. This will supposedly be made after Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes addresses them in Brackley, as per Sky Sports.

Hamilton will be replacing Carlos Sainz, whose contract will expire at the end of the 2024 season with Ferrari. The former will then be partnering Charles Leclerc for the Prancing Horse.

Leclerc had signed a multi-year extension recently ahead of the 2024 F1 season, while the details of Sainz's extension have not yet been revealed.

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What factors could be involved in Lewis Hamilton's reported switch to Ferrari?

After Lewis Hamilton joined the German outfit back in 2013, he became one of the most competitive drivers on the grid. Hamilton, along with Mercedes' superior technology in the turbo-hybrid era, went on a domination spree that lasted till the 2021 season. During this time, the Brit won six drivers' World Championships and the team took home eight constructors' championships.

Hamilton has partnered with Nico Rosberg, who won the 2016 championship, followed by Valtteri Bottas, and most recently George Russell. He and Russell signed an extension till the end of the 2025 season earlier, but now it seems Hamilton is on the verge of ending his contract prematurely.

One of the biggest factors that may have affected Hamilton's move is the competitiveness of Mercedes in the current era. Since the 2022 season, they have managed to win only one race, and Hamilton has been without a victory for two consecutive seasons.

While 2023 was expected to be the season when the team made a comeback, they didn't manage to win a single race.

On the other hand, Ferrari has made considerable upgrades to their challenger. The team had fallen way back early in the season but managed to regain some pace and become the only team other than Red Bull to win a Grand Prix during the season. Furthermore, the Italian outfit has constantly shown interest in the Brit over the years.