(London) Driving for Ferrari next year will be a dream come true for Lewis Hamilton, but the seven-time Formula One champion remains “100% committed” to Mercedes until then, he wrote on Saturday.
The upcoming F1 season will be Hamilton’s last with Mercedes before he joins Ferrari in 2025, a move that shocked the motor racing world.
He said he experienced “a whole range of emotions” this week.
“I feel incredibly lucky, having achieved things with Mercedes that I could only dream of as a child, to now have the chance to realize another childhood dream. Driving red for Ferrari,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram.
PHOTO ANDREW BOYERS, REUTERS
Lewis Hamilton and his future teammate Charles Leclerc
Saying “the time has come to make a change and take on a new challenge”, Hamilton, 39, compared the decision to joining Mercedes from McLaren 11 years ago. Until then, Mercedes was struggling to keep pace with F1’s top teams.
“I still remember the feeling of taking a leap of faith into the unknown when I joined Mercedes in 2013,” he wrote.
I know some people didn’t understand it at the time, but I was doing the right thing then and that’s the feeling I have again this time. I can’t wait to see what I can bring and what we can accomplish together.
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton is a six-time Formula 1 champion with Mercedes, most recently in 2020.
He has 103 wins, but the most recent dates back to December 2021.
Hamilton paid tribute to Mercedes, team principal Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda who, as non-executive chairman of Mercedes, was an influential figure before his death in 2019.
“I am more motivated than ever, fitter and more focused than ever,” Hamilton wrote. I want to help Mercedes win again. I am 100% committed to the work I need to do and determined to end the partnership on a high note. »