Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 Ferrari deal has now been reported to have major financial implications for the seven-time world champion. According to Business F1 Magazine, the Briton may be forced to cough up a staggering $6 million to his ex-manager, Penni Thow as the Briton sacked her just days before announcing his $150 million (as per the source) contract with the Scuderia.
It has been reported that Hamilton decided to let Thow go owing to a commission clause in his contract with her agency Cooper. Given that Thow had been kept in the dark about Hamilton’s dealings with Ferrari, the #44 driver wasn’t prepared to obligatorily pay her the commission.
**Hamilton explained that his split with Thow’s company was an amicable one, having come to the conclusion to go his own way after a lot of deep thought over the winter** Hmm… As the old saying goes there is always two sides to a story hence maybe Penni didn’t see any amicable
— Michjoy (@MrMichjoy) February 29, 2024
The amount of commission being discussed here would have been approximately a figure of around $38 million. After sacking Thow, Hamilton rehired his erstwhile manager, Marc Hynes. However, the economics of this deal mean that the Briton could be facing a potential lawsuit from Thow.
Thow had played an instrumental role in getting Hamilton his $40 million a year deal with Mercedes earlier last year. Business F1 suggests that the commission from that deal itself would be around $10 million. However, at a minimum, the Briton should be prepared to let go of at least $6 million.
Despite orchestrating Mercedes deal, Lewis Hamilton bets on record-beating Ferrari alliance
Thow would have done everything, in her capacity, to see Hamilton re-sign with the Silver Arrows last year. That being said, despite her best efforts, Hamilton seemingly was never inclined to sign the dotted lines anyway.
Hamilton’s 2-year deal with Mercedes is actually the reason why the Briton was able to move onto Ferrari anyway. As it turns out, the #44 driver’s contract was a one-year deal with the second year being an option exercisable by Lewis. Hence, he could ditch the Silver Arrows at the end of this season.
Ferrari boosting Hamilton’s salary to €80m, and willing to invest up to €400m in his ’empire’ and brand was not on my LIFE bingo card
— ℝ (@RishcaAbrahams) February 2, 2024
In any case, the Ferrari deal that Hamilton has inked is probably the biggest F1 contract in the history of the sport. According to reports, the Scuderia have decided to invest nearly $400 million into Hamilton. While a chunk of it goes towards his salary, Ferrari chairman, John Elkann has personally pledged his support to Hamilton’s off-track initiatives such as Mission44.
What’s more, whilst the Mercedes board failed to grant Hamilton an ambassadorial role, the famous prancing horse of Maranello have no problems with making the seven-time world champion the face of their brand for the foreseeable future.
