Lewis Hamilton has confessed that his move from Mercedes to Ferrari from the 2025 Formula 1 season has created a ‘strange feeling’ within his current team.
The driver surprised Formula 1 in February by announcing that he would trigger a release clause in his contract to leave Mercedes at the end of 2024 and sign with Ferrari from next year. The Briton has won six of his seven F1 titles with the German team since 2013, but decided to pursue a ‘childhood dream’ and sign for the Italian team.
As the Hamilton-Mercedes partnership approaches its end throughout the 2024 season, the driver will gradually be excluded from team meetings and will not have full access to information on updates and developments so as not to take them to Maranello.
“For me, this whole journey has been very emotional, simply because I have so much love for this team,” Hamilton told CBS’s Gayle King. “I’m not leaving because I’m unhappy. I’m not leaving because of relationship problems. They’ve been with me through thick and thin, it’s definitely a strange transition at the moment,” she added.
Hamilton has not won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP, 51 races ago, remaining without victories in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
During this period, Max Verstappen won three titles and 39 victories, while Hamilton only managed six podiums in the 2023 season dominated by Verstappen. With the loss of competitiveness, Hamilton admitted that his perspective has changed, but he is still determined to seek progress with Mercedes.
“We exist to win, and when you’re not winning, your perspective needs to change,” he said. “It’s just about pursuit and evolution. It’s about unity. How can we make improvements? How can we get back to where we want to be? And then motivate everyone. In fact, I really enjoy this experience”, concluded the seven-time champion.
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