F1 News: Lewis Hamilton reveals MIXED feelings from Mercedes employees over Ferrari move

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Australia, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Hamilton reveals MIXED feelings from Mercedes employees over Ferrari move

The Brit is determined to leave Mercedes on a high before joining Ferrari

Tyler Rowlinson

Wednesday 17 April 2024 08:27

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Lewis Hamilton has revealed that some Mercedes employees took the news of his impending departure ‘less well’ than others.

Hamilton will leave the Brackley-based squad at the end of the season to head to Ferrari for 2025 onwards, partnering Charles Leclerc.

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The stunning move marks the end of an iconic relationship between Hamilton and Mercedes, which dates back to his debut in F1 with his Mercedes-powered McLaren in 2007.

The Brit won six of his seven world championships with the team between 2014 and 2020, as well as eight consecutive constructors’ titles from 2014-2021 as his team dominated the turbo-hybrid era.

The Brit has won six world titles with Mercedes

Mercedes personnel taken Hamilton exit 'less well'

But since the beginning of the ground-effect era in 2022, Mercedes have fallen behind their rivals as Hamilton has struggled to get to grips with his machinery, not winning a race since Jeddah in 2021.

The 2024 season has been a dismal one for the team thus far, with only one top five finish in the opening four races – that coming from George Russell in Bahrain.

Mercedes are fourth in the constructors’ standings with just 34 points, 107 points behind leaders Red Bull, while Hamilton sits ninth in the drivers’ equivalent with a best finish of seventh in Bahrain.

Hamilton has struggled in the ground-effect era

The 39-year-old is determined to leave Mercedes on a high note, but speaking with GQ, he revealed that some people at the team have not taken the news that he will be joining Ferrari next season too well.

“My focus is, how do I deliver the best year that this team has ever had, after all the great years we’ve had?” he said.

“It’s how you engage with the people around you, who have taken the news – some of them really well, some of them less so. How do you take them on this journey and leave on a high together?”