After 11 years, Lewis Hamilton is all set to leave Mercedes and jump to Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season. Because of his long-standing partnership with several members of the Mercedes team, Hamilton is reportedly adamant about taking some of them with him. But, also with this, the Briton would be taking information about the W15 and other developments to Ferrari. Toto Wolff, however, isn’t concerned by any of that.
Wolff said in a report published by RaceFans,
“We have engineers that leave us and go to other teams and the notice periods are sometimes as short as six months. I don’t have any doubt in Lewis’s integrity in terms of sharing information and in that respect, I just want to make sure, we want to make sure that this is a successful season for both drivers and a successful season for Mercedes and all of us will give our utmost to achieve that.”
It’s been a crazy few days which have been filled with a whole range of emotions.
But as you all now know, after an incredible 11 years at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, the time has come for me to start a new chapter in my life and I will be joining Scuderia Ferrari in 2025.
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 3, 2024
Mercedes and Ferrari have shared a strong rivalries for almost the better half of the last decade. They are also two of the most successful teams in the sport and have the same target to take Red Bull down. Therefore, there is always an urge to be better than each other and hence, they make the competition even higher.
Hamilton moving to Ferrari is a big win for the Italian team. At a time when the Silver Arrows refused to make the Briton their brand ambassador for ten years, John Elkann’s Ferrari agreed to it. As a result, they now have the edge against Mercedes with Hamilton in their wings.
There were also talks about the Briton taking key personnel with him to Ferrari. However, that will not be the case as Mercedes slapped a ‘Non-poaching clause’ in his contract. Nevertheless, the seven-time world champion has his eyes set only on Brackley this season. He revealed from his personal social media accounts that his loyalty lies with Mercedes for the year and he will try to end his days at Brackley on a high.
What’s in store for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in 2024?
As Lewis Hamilton will be leaving at the end of this year, there are chances that Mercedes will not risk revealing all the important abilities of car development to the seven-time world champion. Furthermore, there were also talks about the team involving George Russell more than his experienced compatriot in the simulation.
However, that will not be the case, said Wolff. He unraveled that both drivers will have equal treatment in the team for this season even if one is leaving the next year. Therefore, everything from development to simulation is to be done in consultation with both Hamilton and Russell.
One to remember pic.twitter.com/gwQ8f3Hbol
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 2, 2024
Despite this, Russell is regarded as the future of the team and for obvious reasons. After Hamilton’s departure, Russell will be the more experienced guy in the team and therefore, expect the team to provide him with a senior role from this year onwards.
Coming back to Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari, the news indeed shocked fans and critics alike. As Lewis Hamilton moves to Ferrari for a massive $435 million next season, this created waves in F1 businesses for Ferrari in the share market. Soon after the official announcement, Ferrari’s share went up to 6%. In monetary terms, it is well above $4 billion.
