LONDON-. Lewis Hamiltonseven-time champion of the Formula 1could surprise and leave Mercedes after he was linked with Ferrari for next year, according to reports Thursday.
Sky Sports News indicated that Hamilton will leave Mercedes after the 2024 season and will replace Carlos Saint Jr. at Ferrari. Does not cite any source. While the Daily Mail indicated that the deal is moving forward and motorsport.com assured that the deal is not closed, but negotiations are at an advanced stage and could end this week.
The Associated Press contacted Mercedes and Ferrari, which declined to comment on comments that Hamilton would join the Italian team.
The news shocked many F1 observers because the 39-year-old British driver signed a two-year deal last summer that runs until 2025, although it is not known if the deal contains a buyout clause.
After signing the new contract, Hamilton spoke of having “unresolved issues” with the team and the faith he has in Mercedes that they will be at the front again.
Hamilton won six titles with Mercedes in seven seasons between 2014 and 2020, losing the 2021 championship to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the final lap of the final race. He has not won a race since that year and his winning record remains at 103.
If he joins Ferrari, he will surely replace Sainz, considering his teammate Charles Leclerc recently signed a multi-year contract extension.
Five years ago Hamilton was asked if Ferrari could tempt him to sign with them.
“If there is a point in my life where I decide I want a change, that would possibly be an option,” he said at the time.
In late 2019, Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Hamilton met Ferrari president John Eikann twice this year and that they discussed the possibility of Hamilton replacing Sebastian Vettel.
At the last grand prix of the year in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton was asked if he met with Eikann.
“Naturally, anything that happens behind closed doors is always private with whoever you end up meeting,” he warned. “For many years I have never sat down with anyone and considered other options because we (Mercedes) have moved in a straight line on the same path. “We continue on that path and there is little that would make it change.”
Ferrari has not won the drivers’ championship since Kimi Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 when he beat Hamilton — in his debut season — by one point.
Hamilton signed with Mercedes in 2013 from McLaren in what was another surprise decision at the time.
After dominating 2020, Hamilton and Mercedes have had two frustrating seasons. Mercedes won only one race in 2022 – with George Russell – and admitted it made a mistake with the design.
Hamilton finished third last season, but 341 points behind Verstappen and with just six podiums.
Pre-season testing begins on February 21 in Bahrain, which will host the first race of a record-breaking season of 24 grands prix beginning on March 2.
Source: AP
