Photo Credit: Motorsport Images
Breaking down the reasons behind Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari
Vincent Raitt, Staff Writer
Lewis Hamilton is undisputedly in the running for the Formula One (F1) GOAT. With seven individual championship titles and over 100 wins, he has already cemented himself as one of the best drivers ever to climb into an F1 car. Most of these achievements, however, occurred when he was driving for Mercedes. With the recent announcement of his impending move to Ferrari in 2025, let’s take a look at his career and see what’s causing him to make this racing move.
Lewis Hamilton began karting at only six years old. He joined the F1 Grid in 2007 with McLaren and immediately made waves by ending second in the drivers’ championship, losing out to Kimi Raikkonen by just one point. The next season, he won the championship by one point, becoming the youngest driver, at the time, to win the title. However, the next few seasons would not see anywhere near the same levels of achievement he had gotten in his first few seasons at McLaren. Although he was nabbing the occasional race win, he decided that something needed to change.
In 2012, after not reaching the success he had during his first few seasons with the team, he announced that he was taking a job with Mercedes. This was a very surprising move by him. At the time, Mercedes was not a very successful team. While they had found success in the past, they recently had struggled to get race wins, only getting one in the past four years. Pundits at the time were surprised by this move, with Jeremy Clarkson comparing it to “moving from Manchester United to West Ham.” Below the surface, however, the move made sense. For one, it reunited him with his old karting teammate Nico Rosberg. Along with this, McLaren was on the downswing, and Mercedes seemed to be rising. Through their first season together, the pundits seemed to be correct, with Lewis only achieving one race win. However, that would all change in 2014.
The 2014 season saw major rule changes to the sport, mostly modifying the requirements for the engine. These rule changes happen semi-regularly, to both keep F1 on the cutting edge of motorsport technology and put all teams back on equal footing. While this specific rule change accomplished the first goal, it failed spectacularly on the second. Mercedes absolutely nailed their car, beginning the era of Mercedes dominance with Hamilton at their helm. Mercedes would win the next eight consecutive team championships and Hamilton would win six of the next eight individual championships. All good things, however, must come to an end. The rule changes for the 2022 season knocked Mercedes down to third place, and they would only manage to climb back to second place in the 2023 season. More shocking, however, was Lewis did not win a single race in the 2022 season. This was a first for him and his fourteen F1 seasons.
After 2023, and the incapacity to reach the success he had during his past seasons with the team, he announced that he was taking a job with Ferrari. This was also a surprising move. Recently, Ferrari has not been a very successful team. While they have found success in the past, they have struggled to get race wins, only getting five in the past four years. Hey, wait a minute, this sounds familiar. Surprising move? Check. Leaving a team with which he had been successful, but has been struggling in recent years? Check. Joining a team that was successful in the past and is on the upswing? Check. Massive rule changes, mainly affecting the engine, planned for his second year at the new team? Check. Maybe we all should have seen this coming.
