Hamilton forwards agreement with Ferrari for the 2025 season

Englishman Lewis Hamilton is close to agreeing his transfer to Ferrari, according to the website Motorsport.com. According to the vehicle, the seven-time world champion, currently at Mercedes, could be announced by the Italian team by the end of this week, with a contract in force from the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Without giving further details about the conversations between Hamilton and Ferrari, the website points out that “negotiations are advanced”. The Englishman is one of the dreams of the traditional Italian team, which has been trying to settle with the owner of seven world titles in recent years. The driver, however, renewed his contract with Mercedes last year.

According to Motorsport.com, the new contract with Mercedes would not be an impediment to the agreement between Hamilton and Ferrari. This is because the contract announced last season, which provided for an extension of the contract until 2025, would only have the latter as a renewal option. In practice, the Englishman’s contract could be terminated at the end of 2024.

Ferrari, Mercedes and Hamilton did not comment on the information published on the website, considered one of the references in the world of motorsport. In recent years, both the Italian team and the driver have gone public several times to deny rumors of a possible negotiation.

If the agreement is confirmed, the transfer will become one of the biggest and most rumored in the history of Formula 1, not only because it involves two of the biggest teams in the category, but also one of the biggest drivers. Hamilton holds the title record alongside German Michael Schumacher.

The arrangement would be surprising both because of Hamilton’s renewal with Mercedes last year and because of Charles Leclerc’s recent new contract with Ferrari. Last week, the Italian team extended its relationship with the Monaco driver for “multiple years”, without specifying a date. His contract would expire at the end of this year.

Having Leclerc and Hamilton in the same team could generate noise and more work in the criticized management of Ferrari, the target of several criticisms in recent years for constant errors on and off the track. Historically, the team usually has a hierarchy of drivers, unlike other teams, which let their athletes compete against each other on the tracks.

In a possible agreement with Ferrari, Hamilton would join his new team to take the place of Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr., whose contract also ends this year. The European press has been speculating since last year about the future of the Spanish driver, who is expected to leave the team at the end of 2024.