The transfer of the decade! Hamilton officially confirmed as Ferrari driver. I will always be grateful to Mercedes, says British legend

It’s official! Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the season to join Ferrari for 2025, where he will form a driving duo with Charles Leclerc. The two teams confirmed it definitively on Thursday evening, with the seven-time champion activating his option to terminate his contract.

As we reported a few hours ago, Lewis Hamilton will become a Ferrari driver from the 2025 season. After many years, he will therefore leave the Mercedes team, to which he transferred for 2013 from McLaren. It should be added, the now thirty-nine-year-old racer will drive in F1 next year for the first time in 18 years with a different engine than Mercedes.

So we are currently watching with certainty the transfer of the decade and one of the biggest and most shocking transfers in the history of the queen of motorsport.

F1 fans simply could not have asked for a bigger transfer bombshell. The jury was virtually out on Hamilton’s move from Mercedes to Ferrari as early as Thursday afternoon. The Italian media came out with this information in the morning, then renowned insiders and journalists joined in.

And when the world’s media began to write about Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari as a done deal, it was practically a done deal. The British media, led by Sky Sports, then virtually confirmed the seven-time champion’s move.

All that was left was for an official statement. Mercedes announced the departure of the active legend at exactly 20:00. One of the biggest transfers in F1 history is here. Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season and head to Ferrari to form a driving duo with Charles Leclerc.

I will be forever grateful, says Hamilton

Hamilton has activated the option to terminate the contract he signed last August. The seven-time champion, who has won six championships with Mercedes, will not honour the agreement.

“I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I am proud of what we have achieved together. Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old. It’s where I grew up, so the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.

However, the time is right for me to take this step and I am excited to take on a new challenge. I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family. I am 100% committed to giving my best performance this season and making my final year with the Silver Arrows a year to remember,” Hamilton said in an official Mercedes statement.

Hamilton has won six championships, 82 victories, 148 podiums and 78 pole positions with the German stable.

Source: F1, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1, Scuderia Ferrari, X