'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Lewis Hamilton's reported move to Ferrari in 2025 has broken the internet as it appears to be all but confirmed that the driver will move to Maranello. He joined Mercedes at the start of the 2013 F1 season and in retrospect, he was laughed off by quite a few in the paddock at the time.
Six world championships and countless wins and podiums later, it does appear that Lewis Hamilton is willing himself to embark on what would be another challenge in a highly-accomplished career.
While there are plenty that are surprised by this decision from the British driver, if you analyze it well enough, there are quite a few facets that make perfect sense. Let's take a look.
#1. He's achieved all he could at Mercedes
At some point, one has to wonder what more there is for Lewis Hamilton to achieve at Mercedes. He joined the team in 2013 as a world champion already but someone who had not tasted championship success for a while. From 2014 to 2020, the run that the team and the driver went on will go down as one of the greatest in F1's history.
Winning tons of races, pole positions, and six titles is a big thing. Mercedes are like a family for Lewis Hamilton, but everything does become repetitive after a point. The driver is close to 40 years of age now and he needs motivation and new challenges to explore himself. Could he get that at the German team? Probably not.
At Ferrari, there's an entirely new challenge that Hamilton has in front of him. One that seems daunting at first but also enticing for a competitor like Hamilton.
#2. Lewis Hamilton is not fighting for the title in 2024 or 2025
While every team is going to put all their resources into challenging the Max Verstappen-Red Bull duo, it is an open secret in F1 that they are just out of reach now. The gap that the Austrian team had at the end of the 2023 season was a damning indictment of how far behind everyone else is when it comes to catching up.
There's a long way to go for Mercedes or Ferrari or any other challenger to catch up. In all likelihood, it's not going to happen in this set of regulations. Hamilton could have stayed at either of the two teams for these years and more or less the result would have been the same.
What Lewis Hamilton has now done is set himself a target of succeeding in 2026, The entire focus will be on that year, when the regulations change and everyone starts from a clean slate. It is this pragmatism that seems to have helped the Briton in making this decision.
#3. A title with Ferrari cements his legacy as the greatest
Lewis Hamilton is essentially moving to a team that could be termed the final frontier for him and his career. In terms of success, no driver in F1 comes close to Hamilton. He's tied at seven in world titles. He's got more than 100 wins and pole positions already in a career that is as distinguished as any you could find.
Having said that, when compared to his contemporaries or compared to the great Michael Schumacher, there's only one thing missing from Lewis Hamilton's career. It is a stint at Ferrari. What gives Hamilton a nudge ahead of his contemporaries Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso is that both drivers failed at Ferrari.
It is also what gives Michael Schumacher a leg up on the Briton, with the German going to Ferrari and achieving unprecedented success. If Hamilton goes to Ferrari, beats a supreme talent in Charles Leclerc, and wins his eighth title, then we're looking at a driver who would surge ahead of everyone else in the debate of being the "greatest of all time."
Did Hamilton have this at the back of his mind when he took the call? Probably yes, and we can't deny what a monumental feat it would be if he does accomplish this.
