Lewis Hamilton Issues Statement Regarding Shocking Mercedes Departure

Thursday, 01 February 2024 at 22:00

Mercedes Formula One team officially shared Lewis Hamilton's first response to his change of teams in their announcement press release.

It is official: Lewis Hamilton will be leaving Mercedes and joining Ferrari at the start of the 2025 season after 12 years of racing with Silver Arrows (including 2024).

This news came as a great shock to everyone, mainly because the seven-time World Champion signed a new contract with Mercedes during the 2023 season that was supposed to last until the end of 2025.

However, as it turns out, this contract included an exit clause, which the 39-year-old has now decided to activate. In the press release shared by his team, Hamilton was quoted as saying:

"I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I'm so proud of what we have achieved together. Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old."

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Hamilton joined the Mercedes Formula 1 team in 2013. Being with the team for so long, nobody expected the 39-year-old to break his loyalty at the end of his career.

"It's a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make."

The seven-time World Champion has been asked point blank by the media a couple of times in the past about whether he would consider joining the Italian team, and while he never said yes, he never completely dismissed the idea.

"But the time is right for me to take this step and I'm excited to be taking on a new challenge. I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto [Wolff] for his friendship and leadership and I want to finish on a high together"

The upcoming season with Mercedes might be quite strange with Hamilton's team knowing he is quitting the team at the end, but the 39-year-old added this news wouldn't have any influence on his performances.