In one fell swoop, Lewis Hamilton single-handedly saved Deadline Day.
Forget the transfer window ending with a whimper. News that the seven-time world champion is set to make a shock move to Ferrari provided enough fireworks to light up several New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The Brit is set to join the Scuderia next year in what would be a fairytale ending to an extraordinary Formula 1 career.
The bombshell comes less than a year after Hamilton denied talks with the Italian brand over a £40 million deal.
Instead, Hamilton signed a multi-year £100m deal to stay at Mercedes through 2024 and 2025, but it now appears a ‘break clause’ has been included in the contract.
Lewis Hamilton will reportedly join Ferrari in 2025
The Brit is expected to join the Scuderia together with Charles Leclerc (right) after leaving Mercedes
Leclerc signed a new contract with Ferrari earlier this week, meaning he will remain with the Italian team beyond the end of the 2024 season
Although the timing of the deal is unexpected, the feeling that Hamilton and Ferrari were always meant to be together has always proven difficult to ignore.
And for good reason too. Ferrari, despite all their recent troubles, remains arguably the biggest name in the sport.
The Italian team has not won a world championship since 2008, but its sixteen constructors’ titles are still a considerable distance from a Formula 1 record.
To put the figure into context, that’s more than Mercedes and Red Bull, the two powerhouses of the sport over the past twenty years, have achieved together.
It’s not just about the raw stats either, as Ferrari embodies Formula 1 royalty on a level that none of their rivals have ever quite managed to match.
Then there’s Hamilton, statistically the best driver the sport has ever seen.
The 39-year-old leads the all-time rankings for most Formula 1 wins and pole positions and his seven world titles are matched only by the Scuderia’s greatest hero, Michael Schumacher.
Joining Ferrari would give Hamilton the chance to finally overshadow the German, who won five consecutive titles with the Italian team.
Hamilton shared a joke with Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur in Azerbaijan last year
Together with Michael Schumacher, Hamilton has won a record seven world titles
The German won five world titles in a row during an extraordinary run at Ferrari
Hamilton replaced Schumacher at Mercedes at the start of the 2013 season after the latter retired for the second and final time
As Mail Sport reported last year, the Hamilton family had long harbored a nagging ambition to one day see Lewis drive for Ferrari.
His father Anthony confided this when he was still his son’s manager, not long after Lewis made an unforgettable impression on his debut in 2007.
He may also be influenced by the knowledge that his hero, Ayrton Senna, was due to drive for Ferrari in 1995, but died at Imola the year before.
While Hamilton and Ferrari have long exchanged interested glances on the dance floor, the Scuderia’s overtures have become bolder in the past year.
In May, Mail Sport revealed that the Italian team were willing to break the bank to land the superstar in a £40 million deal.
Discussions about the move went so far as to involve company chairman John Elkann, who was in close contact with the British driver.
Hamilton’s family has long harbored a desire to see him drive for Ferrari
Hamilton and his father Anthony (right) talk to then Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali during the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix
Hamilton and Ferrari have long been flirting on the Formula 1 dance floor
Hamilton ultimately decided to stay with Mercedes, believing the German team was the best chance to halt Red Bull’s dominance.
But Ferrari was linked with the Stevenage-born star as early as 2015, just two years after he shocked Formula 1 by swapping McLaren for Mercedes.
When asked about a contract with Ferrari, Hamilton said at the time: ‘No, don’t be crazy. My contract with Mercedes should expire this week. There’s no reason why not.’
Hamilton, who owns one of just 499 models of the £1million LaFerrari supercar, put pen to paper in a £20million deal and went on to win five more titles with the Silver Arrows.
But Mercedes’ stranglehold on the sport has since been loosened, with Red Bull the team to beat since Max Verstappen won his first world title in hugely controversial circumstances in Abu Dhabi in 2021.
Hamilton finished third in the drivers’ standings in 2023, an astonishing 341 points behind Verstappen, who claimed a third consecutive world championship.
And after two challenging seasons for Mercedes, Ferrari is believed to have convinced Hamilton he has a better chance of success with them.
Hamilton’s departure will be a huge blow to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who signed a new two-year contract with the German team last month
Carlos Sainz could make way at Ferrari if Hamilton joins the team in 2025
The Briton is expected to replace Carlos Sainz, whose contract expires at the end of the season and has yet to sign an extension.
Charles Leclerc has no such concerns after agreeing a new deal with the team last week to race for Ferrari after the end of 2024.
The dynamic between the Monegasque and Hamilton will undoubtedly be intriguing, and neither is suited to playing a secondary role in the team.
Time will tell whether the marriage between Hamilton and Ferrari will be successful, but it has long felt inevitable.