Lewis Hamilton shocked the world when he revealed that he would end his decade-long relationship with the Mercedes F1 team and move to Ferrari at the beginning of the 2025 season. The news not only shocked the fans but also the 39-year-old’s own brother, Nicolas Hamilton.
Speaking on his Instagram Live as seen on Twitter (now X), Nicolas revealed the story of how Lewis told him about his Ferrari move. Nicolas highlighted that he was going to do “a public speech for Coke, Coca-Cola” when his older brother was keen to break the news.
However, just before going to his speech, Nicolas spoke to Lewis and the 39-year-old requested him, “I could really do with speaking to you now. Can you talk without anyone hearing?” Then, Lewis Hamilton dropped the bombshell news to his younger brother. Nicolas quoted him, “He said I am going to Ferrari in 2025”.
This stunned the Touring Car racer and got out the most “surprising” reaction from him. Nicolas quoted his reaction, “I was like WOAHH! Oh my God! Are you joking. That’s Crazy”
Nicolas’ reaction probably resembles everyone’s because nobody saw it coming. Having spent 11 years at Mercedes, many believed the seven-time champion would retire with the Silver Arrows itself.
Even his good friend and boss Toto Wolff may not have been able to believe Lewis’ wish to leave the team. Especially, after Mercedes got Lewis’ signature for a two-year extension only six months ago. On top of that, Lewis had made all sorts of promises to fight and help in the revival of Mercedes to championship glory.
Does Lewis Hamilton know something about Mercedes and Ferrari’s future prospects?
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to jump ship from Brackley to Maranello has raised many questions about what lies in store for both teams. On one hand, people are speculating whether Mercedes are going to falter again in producing a competitive car in 2024.
The speculations arose because Hamilton was at the Mercedes factory for a seat fit, just a day before the Ferrari announcement. Even Toto Wolff cited that Hamilton has been involved in the car development process for this season.
Hence, people may assume that the Briton was not satisfied with the Silver Arrows’ prospects for this year or 2025. Although, the reality may be more complex, as Wolff assured that their performance had nothing to do with Hamilton’s decision.
There are multiple moving parts in this mega transfer and Ferrari‘s promises to the seven-time champion may be a big pulling factor. So does this mean, the Italian team have unlocked some big gains over this off-season? That may be a bit of a stretch, but any progress will set them up nicely for 2025.
Naturally, the 39-year-old won’t move to any team at such a crucial stage in his career without a good reason. He has always wanted to be in a winning position. While monetary factors and building a brand is an objective for him, that elusive eighth championship is a much more serious goal.
Moreover, some engineers such as Loic Serra would also accompany Hamilton and move to Maranello in 2025. Several media reports cite this as a key factor for the Briton to sign up for the Italian outfit.
Furthermore, there are also rumors that his senior race engineer Peter Bonnington (Bon0) may also accompany him to Ferrari. However, no official update has come out yet on Bono’s future. He will still serve as the #44 driver’s race engineer in 2024.
