Lewis Hamilton Officially Signs With Ferrari

F1
Thursday, 01 February 2024 at 20:00
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Lewis Hamilton has signed a contract with Scuderia Ferrari, shockingly leaving Mercedes after 11 seasons with the team.

The seven-time World Champion started his F1 career with McLaren back in 2007, and despite winning a World Championship with the team, he left McLaren after six seasons, signing with Mercedes.

Back then, the move was very surprising, as Mercedes were nowhere near the British team when he signed for them, and many questioned whether it wasn't a move backward for the British driver.

However, that proved to be the best move in his career, as he enjoyed 11 successful seasons with Mercedes, winning six World Championships with the German team based in the United Kingdom.

Now, Hamilton is making another surprising move. What started as a rumor has quickly escalated, and only a few hours after the initial report, it seemed as a done deal that the 39-year-old would make the switch.

And it, in fact, was, as Mercedes announced that Hamilton would be leaving the team in the 2024 season. As a result, he will be replacing Carlos Sainz alongside Charles Leclerc, who just recently singed a multi-year contract extension.

Right now, it's still not clear for how many seasons the British driver signed the contract, and also who will take his seat in Mercedes, as the deal happened seemingly out of nowhere.

For Mercedes, the move is a major blow, as they lost the driver, who has been a synonym with the team, while Ferrari may boost their title chances, as according to various reports, Hamilton's arrival could help the team sign more engineers to join the team.

Hamilton's move marks the end of an era with Mercedes, during which he became the most successful racing driver of all time, but at the same time, it also marks an exciting beginning of a new era, the era of Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari.