Sebastian Vettel gives his honest opinion on why Lewis Hamilton decided to move to Ferrari from Mercedes

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have shared a formidable rivalry over the past decade in Ferrari and Mercedes colors. With Hamilton having switched over to the red squad, the retired F1 champion shared his verdict on why the Briton moved after a highly successful stint with the Silver Arrows.

Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015 and aimed to bring championship glory back to Maranello. However, he was unable to fulfill this dream as Hamilton dominated the F1 landscape with Mercedes at that time. On the other hand, the 40-year-old's last championship came in 2020 and he has been on a title-less streak since then.

Perhaps due to that, though Hamilton's partnership with Mercedes yielded six world titles, he decided to jump ship to Ferrari and drive for the Scuderia donning the prestigious red outfit.

With many questioning Lewis Hamilton's late-career move to the Italian giant, Sebastian Vettel shared how it was due to more than Mercedes' inability to contend for the championship again (via Ahmed Baokbah):

"I understand the reasons why Lewis maybe felt he's ready for a move. Even though he had a great relationship with Mercedes, but it's a new challenge in his life. He loves racing and despite the fact he's been around for a long time, he still feels there's more to give."

"(Lewis Hamilton and [Aston Martin designer] Adrian Newey are) two figures that have a lot of power in terms of how much they can inspire people. One from inside the car and one sort of from next to or outside the car."

Hamilton's best Grand Prix finish for the prancing horses came at the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, where he finished P5.

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Lewis Hamilton opens up on his goals for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend

Lewis Hamilton at the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia - Source: Getty

Though Lewis Hamilton has already won a Sprint race, the Grand Prix shells out the most points in the F1 fixture. With a P5 finish in his bag and hoping to move up the grid, the seven-time champion opened up on the challenges that he has faced while adapting to a new design philosophy and driving style for the SF-25 (via Formula 1):

"I won’t want to go too much into detail but it’s just driving style. Every driver had a driving style and my driving style has worked for many years. Naturally you adapt it a little bit over time but this one needs more of a drastic shift and so I found a couple of things that worked in the last race."

However, Hamilton's 25 points pale in comparison to the McLaren drivers' points tally, a sight that the Briton would soon like to change.