Lewis Hamilton is all set to spend his last season with Mercedes this year as he will move to Ferrari in 2025. Since the Briton will depart Mercedes at the end of 2024, Fernando Alonso believes that the team will not include the 39-year-old in their development talks.
While speaking to Lawrence Barretto, Alono said, “Knowing that you will leave at the end of this year you know, from April or May there are a lot of things going on that will go into next year’s car. So, you are not involved in that process. So, there is a little bit of a strange relationship.”
It’s been a crazy few days which have been filled with a whole range of emotions.
But as you all now know, after an incredible 11 years at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, the time has come for me to start a new chapter in my life and I will be joining Scuderia Ferrari in 2025.
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 3, 2024
Any development that takes place this year could matter hugely in the next season since the rules remain relatively stable. Hence, if Ferrari are able to develop their car enough this season, it could also benefit Hamilton in 2025.
Although Alonso has claimed that Mercedes will exclude Hamilton from their discussions, Toto Wolff has denied the same. Instead, the Austrian boss made it clear that they will not exclude Hamilton from any kind of talks.
Toto Wolff believes in Lewis Hamilton’s integrity
Toto Wolff spent over a decade with Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes. The duo won multiple accolades during their time and 2025 will be the time when they part ways finally. Wolff believes that they will part ways professionally and he trusts Hamilton to have the integrity that’s required while switching teams.
On the other hand, Mercedes are going to have a new car for the 2024 F1 season. This will be entirely different from last year’s car as it will have a new front and rear suspension, chassis, new gearbox, aerodynamics, and side pods.
Ferrari gained more Instagram followers on the day of Lewis Hamilton’s announcement (232,021) than they typically do in a month (220,916), per @Zoomph.
Formula 1’s IG post of Ferrari’s 2025 lineup was also their top post over the last year.
The Lewis Hamilton effect is real pic.twitter.com/Tujg1dvkXr
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) February 3, 2024
As for Ferrari, their main focus with Lewis Hamilton will be from the 2026 season onwards, when F1 brings out their new regulations. Under these regulations, the Italian team would want to come out on top, something the Tifosi have missed out on for a long time.
Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari is arguably one of the best commercial moves in F1 in history. This deal is likely to help both parties. On the one hand, Hamilton will receive a whopping $435 million contract. On the other hand, Ferrari are likely to benefit from increased sponsorship deals.
