Lewis Hamilton only has 11 races remaining this year before he leaves Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025. Mercedes’ chief of communications Bradley Lord has recently explained that while the team still shares a bond and camaraderie with the #44 driver, come next season they will be rivals.
Lord gave the hosts of The Fast and the Curious podcast an insight into the environment and mindset in Brackley. Every Mercedes employee or partner will always be part of the team even though they might not officially be associated with them.
And the same applies to Hamilton who won six world championships with the team and led them to eight consecutive Constructors’ titles. But from the 2025 season onwards, the Silver Arrows will leave no stone unturned to fight the Briton hard on the track.
Lord explained, “Obviously, we’ll be racing him tooth and nail on track next year and for as long as he is driving a Ferrari. It’s a bit like Rugby where you play hard on the pitch and can have a beer after it and to park the intensity of the competition that happens on the playing field but not necessarily off it.”
Hamilton himself would be quite aware of this fact. Despite Mercedes being his home for over a decade now, the seven-time world champion is eager to win once again, this time in the iconic red of Scuderia Ferrari – even if it comes at the cost of the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes has given Hamilton a lot to regret with their recent uptick in form
Since their Monaco GP upgrades, Mercedes have witnessed a massive uptick in form. The 2024 Austrian and British GP saw the team snatch back-to-back victories for the first time since 2021 (Brazil and Saudi Arabia).
Hamilton himself became a race winner for the first time since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by winning his home race a few weekends ago. According to his teammate George Russell, Hamilton would not have even contemplated a move to Ferrari if the team were performing the way they are when he made the decision.
#BritishGP | Press Conference:
Q: Lewis, with the Mercedes performing like that, end of last year, do you think would you be in Ferrari next year?
Lewis Hamilton: “Yes.” pic.twitter.com/ybnpp6CkUr
— deni (@fiagirly) July 6, 2024
ESPN quoted the #63 driver as saying, “I don’t think he would have left if the team was performing like this. No way he would have left, for sure not.” But after twelve years with Mercedes, Russell can understand why the prospect of “change” would excite the 39-year-old.
