TheFormula 1world was rocked on Thursday morning with the emergence of news that Lewis Hamilton is set to leave Mercedes to race for Ferrari from next year.
Hamilton signed a contract extension with Mercedes last year but the deal only takes him until the end of this season, when he will be free to join another team.
He will hope a move to Ferrari will improve his chances of clinching an unprecedented eighth world title and ending Max Verstappen’s streak of three in a row.
Hamilton’s ‘irrelevant’ conversations with Ferrari
Ferrari will become the third team Hamilton has raced for during his career after a previous six-year stint with McLaren, where he won his first title in 2008.
Although there is still no official word on Hamilton’s future, with a formal announcement regarding his move expected at some point on Thursday, he did speak highly of Ferrari in an interview last year.
Hamilton maintained at the time that he had never received an official offer to race for the famous Italian team, but said he knew a lot of ‘good people’ who worked there.
He toldBlick:“[There has] never [been an offer]. Okay, we’ve definitely had a few irrelevant conversations. I know a lot of good people there. But I never felt ready to move to Italy.”
It sounds like Hamilton might finally be ready to make that move.
Liam has 10 years' experience in journalism, having previously operated as the Manchester Evening News' associate football editor, and as an editor for the Daily Mirror, the Daily Express and the Daily Star.
