ICYMI: Everything That Happened in the Most Chaotic 24 Hours of Recent F1 History Thanks to Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton going to Ferrari has been the favorite headline of the F1 rumor mill for a while now. And so it seemed when it resurfaced before the morning of February 1, 2024. F1 presenter Will Buxton’s teasing tweet on X (formerly Twitter) got fans intrigued. Then the floodgates opened with several top F1 media houses reporting that the seven-time champion is set to move to the Prancing Horse for 2025! Naturally, Formula 1 was going to be in utter chaos witnessing the single greatest driver transfer in the sport’s history.

How the mega Lewis Hamilton move got confirmed from Rumor to Reality

After Motorsport.com reported Hamilton’s potential switch from Mercedes to Ferrari, many top journalists and media houses started talking about it. F1 social media forums were buzzing and perplexed as to whether it was another streak of rumors to keep the winter break chatter going.

Then came the big confirmation from F1’s top broadcasting partner – Sky Sports. They confirmed that the Briton will sign up for Ferrari and they are monitoring the situation for an official confirmation. Sky Sports presenter Rachel Brookes went down to the Mercedes factory in Brackley, where she reported that they had called an emergency meeting.

Naturally, this meeting was to inform the Mercedes team staff about their beloved champion driver moving to their rivals. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was in Milan and joined the meeting via video call to address his staff. Brookes reported that the meeting only lasted 10-14 minutes, confirming that it was about Hamilton’s 2025 switch.

The only thing that remained now was hearing it from the horse’s mouth. Neither Mercedes nor Ferrari, and even F1 had not commented anything on the unfolding saga. However, media reports came that both teams will announce the news officially at 7 PM GMT (2 PM EST). And they did so, making fans gasp and dropping the bombshell that will rejig the dynamics of F1 completely in the next two years.

Mercedes swallowed the bitter pill as Ferrari played coy on one of its biggest-ever signings

Mercedes was the first to announce the news of Lewis Hamilton parting ways with them at the end of 2024. This included official comments from Toto Wolff and the man of the moment, Hamilton himself. The duo had commented on their incredibly successful partnership of 11 years and how grateful they were for it.

Still, for Wolff and Co, this was the toughest pill to swallow. F1’s most successful driver who had been their North Star was leaving them at a time of unprecedented struggle in their journey. And to rub salt in their wounds, Hamilton’s latest contract extension was only signed six months ago, which kept him at Brackley till the end of 2025.

Thus, it perhaps would have felt like a betrayal that the 39-year-old had committed to fight with them and revive the Silver Arrows to its pre-2022 glory. Nevertheless, Mercedes accepted the seven-time champion’s decision on the chin. On the other hand, Ferrari did not make any major celebratory announcements.

Uncharacteristic of what has to be one of their biggest-ever driver signings (if not the biggest), the Italian outfit only posted a short formal statement that informed Hamilton’s switch to Maranello for 2025. While some fans speculated whether it was sudden and uneventful for them, it is very unlikely that Ferrari would finalize such a deal in a hurry.

With Lewis Hamilton on board, what happens to Carlos Sainz?

After the teams and F1 posted statements and graphics on Hamilton’s second-only career move, Carlos Sainz took to the keyboard. In a short statement on his social media in English, Spanish, and Italian, the #55 driver communicated his parting with Ferrari.

Sainz is one of the biggest losing parties in this mega transfer. The Spaniard was in negotiation to extend his current deal at Maranello beyond 2024. However, Ferrari boss John Elkann got Hamilton on his mind, when he got to know about the Mercedes maestro’s availability.

Now, that the former McLaren driver is a free agent, where will he go next? There have been strong reports of Sainz going to Audi (currently Sauber), for their ambitious 2026 F1 debut. While the 29-year-old had refuted these links, it may become his olive branch now after getting the pink slip from Ferrari.

Besides Audi, Aston Martin, and Mercedes are also now rumored to be potential destinations for Sainz. The two-time race winner may do the straight swap with Hamilton for his Mercedes seat. Although, how will Aston Martin make room for another Spaniard?

Mercedes have a big hole to fill and their options have a Spanish flavor

There are reports that Fernando Alonso may look at his old arch-rival’s Mercedes seat for 2025. These rumors also suggested that Toto Wolff had been in contact with Alonso’s inner circle after Hamilton’s news broke out.

One may think at the age of 42, the two-time champion is tired of switching teams. However, the Spaniard loves some driver market action and if his current team is not delivering, Alonso does not hesitate to burn his bridges with them.

So, if Mercedes offer him a lucrative deal with a better competitive package than Aston Martin, the #14 driver can move to Brackley. This will create a vacancy at the Silverstone outfit that Carlos Sainz can take up.

Although besides Alonso and Sainz, the Silver Arrows have other options too. One of the prime contenders is Alex Albon. Previously favorite to replace Sainz at Ferrari, Albon is a hot property in the 2024 silly season. Now, the Thai driver may look at Mercedes and hope to partner with his childhood friend George Russell.

Another left-field option is Mercedes’ own rookie sensation, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Will Buxton first pointed out how Antonelli, contingent on a good Formula 2 season in 2024 could make a grand F1 debut with the German team. However, some feel Mercedes may not want to make such a bold call on the 18-year-old prodigy in 2025.

Still, Antonelli remains a potential candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton. This can also be said about Mick Schumacher who is the team’s reserve driver. Although from his recent struggles at Haas, his case becomes weaker to partner Russell.

An unlikely return for Sebastian Vettel?

The most outside possibility also involved Hamilton’s friendly rival Sebastian Vettel. Having retired in 2022, the German driver was not willing to return to the sport. However, in 2023, he did not rule out the possibility for the future, as per his wish and with the right opportunity.

Mercedes might just be that opportunity for the four-time champion, of course on his own terms. Vettel replacing Hamilton in 2025 may be the most unlikely scenario. But that’s what everyone thought about Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, about 36 hours ago!

As the great commentator Murray Walker said, “Anything can happen in Grand Prix racing, and it usually does”. Given the events of the past 24-36 hours, Hamilton’s seismic move to Ferrari will have a huge domino effect on the F1 driver market. So, as things stand, it is very difficult to predict or rule out any driver move.

Nonetheless, Lewis Hamilton has done the unfathomable to put F1 in complete meltdown. Whether the seven-time champion’s gamble pays off as he hoped for, time will tell. But for now, it is the end of an era for him at Mercedes, with the start of a fresh chapter at the Scuderia beckoning in 2025!