F1 season hasn’t even begun and Lewis Hamilton has already served F1’s biggest news of the year. The Mercedes man will jump ship at the end of the season to begin a new chapter of his career with Ferrari. As per reports, the contract with the Maranello team will re-establish him on top of the highest-earning drivers. However, there is more than just money that made him switch allegiances.
In a recent interaction with the press during the pre-season testing, Hamilton revealed, “I always knew that he [Frederic Vasseur] would be a good team boss in Formula 1. But he wasn’t interested in that for a long time. At some point, he accepted the job at Ferrari and the picture came together.”
Hamilton is currently hunting for his record-breaking 8th world championship title. While Mercedes has failed to deliver a car worthy of it, the 7-time champion feels Ferrari could take him there. The dream is not wayward as Hamilton has raced under Vasseur’s leadership and tasted success.
There is no reason why they cannot repeat that together. In his own words, Hamilton admitted, “I have a long connection to Fred. We had a lot of success together in Formula 3 and GP2.”
#F1 | Lewis Hamilton admitted that Fred Vasseur played an important role in his decision to go to Ferrari: “I have a long connection to Fred. We had a lot of success together in Formula 3 and GP2. Even after that, we were always in contact.”
“I always knew that he would be a… pic.twitter.com/pFVKVKlnwS
— deni (@fiagirly) February 23, 2024
Hamilton further made a revelation on his relationship with Fred. The duo never lost contact since parting ways after their GP2 stint together. Vasseur too, a few weeks ago, admitted to sitting down for a talk with Hamilton often after a race.
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move caught Toto Wolff by surprise
As Mercedes continued to falter in 2023, Toto Wolff warned the team against Lewis Hamilton’s ouster, who was hanging in just for the 8th world title. Wolff made it clear that if the 39-year-old did not make it there with them, he would leave for another team. This is perhaps why Hamilton’s Ferrari move did not shock him. But the timing of it did.
The Mercedes boss, as per ESPN, said, “When we re-signed the contract with Lewis, we opted for a shorter term, so the events are not a surprise, but maybe the timing is.”
Wolff, who appreciated Hamilton’s straightforwardness, added, “What happened is that we got together for coffee in my place in Oxford, with him returning to the factory [this week], and he said to me that he has decided to race for Ferrari in 2025.”
“The events are not a surprise, maybe the timing”
Toto Wolff speaks for the first time on Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave the team for Ferrari in 2025 pic.twitter.com/pl06qvJOYj
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 2, 2024
The news of the switch caught the best of F1 experts by surprise. That list includes Ferrari’s very own former driver Mika Salo. The 57-year-old Finn, while trying to make sense of the move, felt there was more than what meets the eye.
Salo believes something is going on behind the scenes, whether related to the car’s development or otherwise, which convinced Hamilton to jump ship. Whatever it is, we’ll have to wait for another year to get a better picture.
