When Ferrari made Lewis Hamilton‘s appointment in 2025 official, the entire F1 world was rocked. His decade-long association with Mercedes will come to an end in 2024, and several key figures were shocked. Renowned journalist and former communications director Matt Bishop, however, was not one of them.
Bishop, in an exclusive interview with The SportsRush‘s Tanish Chachra, insisted that he always knew Hamilton wanted to drive for Ferrari. He admitted that he wasn’t in the internal circle of people who knew about Hamilton’s transfer earlier this year. But in a conversation with the seven-time world champion nine years ago, Bishop learned that Hamilton was dreaming about ending his career at Ferrari.
“We did have a conversation in a bar in Tokyo in 2015. And he didn’t say it was a private or confidential conversation. But I obviously realized it was because we were having a private conversation,” said Bishop.
#HappyBirthday Lewis Hamilton, 39, with whom I worked at McLaren for 5 great seasons (2008-2012), & who remains a stunningly brilliant #F1 driver & a genuinely good man. pic.twitter.com/mfEkwlNaY8
— Matt Bishop ️ (@TheBishF1) January 7, 2024
“I was no longer a journalist, I was working for McLaren and he was working for Mercedes. And I kept my little secret for nine years. But when he finally announced just the other day that he was finally going to race for Ferrari, I thought there was no need to continue to keep it secret.”
This is when Matt Bishop wrote a column on Motorsport Magazine, revealing his conversation with Hamilton. The fact that Hamilton told Bishop about his desire all those years ago, seemingly made the announcement less shocking for the 61-year-old.
Matt Bishop was unsure if Lewis Hamilton would realize his dream
Hamilton has not won a race in F1 since 2021, largely owing to Mercedes’ on-track struggles. Now 39, many wondered if it would motivate him to hang up his racing gloves. Instead, he decided to leave the Brackley-based outfit behind and embark on a new challenge.
Joining Ferrari comes with a lot of pressure, especially when a driver has a CV like that of Hamilton’s. The Stevenage-born driver’s dream is to win his eighth world title, and Ferrari too, want to be champions for the first time since 2008. This new partnership could pay very strong dividends for both parties involved.
BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton to join Ferrari in 2025!#F1 @LewisHamilton @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/M5QrB5pM8G
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 1, 2024
Bishop, however, in his exclusive interview with Tanish Chachra of The SportsRush, admitted that he wasn’t sure Hamilton would ever realize his dream. “Perhaps I wondered whether the ship had sailed and that Lewis was not, after all, going to have an opportunity to race for Ferrari. Don’t forget, he is 39. At the beginning of next season, he will have turned 40.”
Hamilton is currently taking part in his last-ever season for Mercedes. He will join Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in 2025, hoping to bring championship glory back to the iconic Italian stable.
