Lewis Hamilton kept his parents in the dark about his decision to leave Mercedes and sign with Ferrari in 2025 until the day of the shock announcement.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton decided to join Ferrari ahead of the 2025 Formula One season in a shocking move that caught everyone in the F1 community by surprise, as not even his closest friends and family members got wind of the switch.
Word leaked out on February 1 that the British driver would be joining Ferrari come 2025, a day after he informed Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff over breakfast that he was leaving the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes and Ferrari hesitated to officially announce the jaw-dropping switch until they coordinated their announcements later that evening, as the story had leaked beforehand.
Even Hamilton’s family was kept in the dark about his switch until the day of the formal announcement, which sent shockwaves across F1.
“It [the decision] happened very fast,” Hamilton said. “The opportunity just popped up and I was like ‘OK I’ve got to think for a second’ and I didn’t have a lot of time to think, I just had to go with my gut feeling and I decided to take the opportunity.”
The 39-year-old admitted that the decision was one which he had to make himself.
“I didn’t speak to anybody,” he added. “I didn’t tell my parents until the day of it being announced, so no one knew and I really wanted to do it for myself and that’s ultimately…I had to find out what was best for me.”
The element of uncertainty was highlighted by 39-year-old Hamilton, who said he had no idea what lay ahead or how long he would be able to continue racing.
“I was excited for a new year, but not really knowing what the future would hold and not really knowing how long I was going to race for, but knowing that I felt super driven and excited to continue to race,” he said.
Hamilton’s decision to end his eventual 12-year career at Mercedes was made possible by the contract extension he agreed to last summer. What looked like a simple two-year contract was actually for a set one-year term and an additional 12-month option.
“It was the hardest decision,” he said. “When I left McLaren it was a very hard decision also because it was like my family, you feel such a part of the family and obviously, I’ve been such a big part of Mercedes, and it’s been such a huge part of my life and we’ve achieved so much together.
“The thing is I will always be a Mercedes fan and we’ll always have this incredible history together, even now.
“After all these years I genuinely always check where McLaren are and I’m always supporting them and that will always be the case for me here also.”
Hamilton’s new goal is to break Ferrari’s protracted championship drought once he joins them in 2025. The 16-time champions haven’t won the championship since 2008, and no Ferrari driver has won the Drivers’ Championship since Kimi Raikkonen’s victory the year before.
