(Paris) Discussions are underway between British driver Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and the Ferrari team, which would like to recruit the seven-time world champion from 2025, several media reported on Thursday.
Lewis Hamilton (39) extended his contract until the end of 2025 with Mercedes, where he has been playing since 2013, last August after several months of rumors reporting contacts between Ferrari and him. But he would have a release clause to leave the team led by Austrian Toto Wolff at the end of the 2024 season.
The announcement of a possible departure of the Briton to the Scuderia in 2025 was made by the Italian website Formu1a.uno. Other media like The Teamthe BBC or the Gazzetta dello Sport confirmed that the two parties were in discussions and could reach an agreement quickly.
The British channel Sky Sports is affirmative and indicates that Hamilton will join Ferrari in 2025 to replace the Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr and that employees of the Mercedes factory in Brackley (United Kingdom) will be informed of the departure of the seven-time world champion this Thursday, before an official announcement is made.
Contacted by AFP, neither Scuderia Ferrari nor the Mercedes team wished to comment.
Monegasque Charles Leclerc has just extended his contract with Ferrari for “several seasons”, but Sainz is currently only committed until the end of 2024 with the Italian team.
Hamilton holds the record for the number of victories in Formula 1 with 103 successes. He has won seven world titles, like German legend Michael Schumacher, one with McLaren (2008) and six with Mercedes (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020). But the Briton has not won a Grand Prix since the end of 2021 and remains in two difficult seasons with Mercedes.