Lewis Hamilton’s sudden decision to move to Ferrari in 2025 rocked the Formula 1 world. It dropped like a bombshell and the F1 fans began to scramble like crazy to understand the depth and dynamic of the move. As per reports that followed, Hamilton is all set to take home a staggering $435 million (€400 million) in salary and bonuses in the next few years.
According to the French website Sportune, the Mercedes driver will take home a salary of $87 million (€80 million) in 2025. However, according to F1 journalist Joe Pompliano, Hamilton will earn over $100 million per year at Ferrari. He will also have the option to extend the contract in 2026 and may take payment from the team as the ambassador.
“The current deal would be for 80 million euros [$87 million] for 2025, plus an option for 2026. With around 20 million euros [$21 million] of this amount, delivered in the form of bonuses for the benefit of the pilot’s foundation,” reported the French media site.
The vantage point of this transfer is probably Hamilton‘s post-F1 career after the seven-time world champion failed to convince Mercedes of the same. Hamilton wanted to end his F1 career and still be the Brand Ambassador for the German brand for the next 10 years.
However, this did not convince the Silver Arrows, but they wanted to keep the Briton in the team. Therefore, they put a contract for him for 2024 and 2025 a few months back for $65 million (€60 million).
Hamilton reportedly convinced John Elkann to fund his initiative Mission 44 and have him as an ambassador. Therefore, the decision to switch materialized. So, the Briton’s F1-related salary may remain similar to his current Mercedes contract, with an additional $21 million for his off-track initiatives.
Elkann, on the other hand also benefited from the upcoming move already. Ferrari saw a rise of 6% in the share market, which is equal to an increase in their overall worth. That, in a nutshell, is the effect of Lewis Hamilton, the most famous F1 driver on the planet.
How did Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari pan out?
From 2023, there were rumors about Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari. However, all of this seemed to be just rumors until February 1. There were rumors about John Elkann meeting Hamilton last year to discuss a possible move. They also had multiple meetings but none of them worked out.
Ferrari arrived with a deal of about $100 million (€92 million) initially for two years. This would have seen the Briton take around $50 million a year, which Hamilton clearly declined. The reason, as understood was clear. He wanted more from the team for Mission 44 and other initiatives that he supports.
This resulted in the Prancing Horse backing off and continuing with Carlos Sainz for the time being. As for Hamilton, he went on to renew his contract with Mercedes despite a lot of demands not being met. However, Ferrari came back with better offers in 2024 and offered something Lewis Hamilton could not refuse.
Initially, everyone believed all reports to be false again until Mercedes, Ferrari, and Formula 1 all came out clean. They confirmed the move to be true. Much like everyone, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal was also surprised by the quick decision. He got to know about the move on Wednesday when he sat with Hamilton for the annual friendly chat at his Oxford home.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how the transfer pans out in 2025. Hamilton will join the likes of legendary drivers like Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel in a Scarlet Ferrari. It will also be exciting to watch how Hamilton manages to perform in a car that every F1 driver dreams of driving at least once in their lifetime.
