Lewis Hamilton F1 retirement decision SURPRISES former team-mate

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Hamilton F1 retirement decision SURPRISES former team-mate

The seven-time world champion has decided to challenge himself with a new chapter

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 9 February 2024 23:57

Jenson Button has admitted that the decision of his former team-mate Lewis Hamilton to join a new team so late in his career could impact his legacy.

The 39-year-old will - thanks to how linear time works - be in his 40s by the time he steps into a Ferrari in 2025, and it seems that he intends to race well into his fifth decade.

The shock switch means he will be leaving the Mercedes team that he will have spent 12 seasons with at the end of this current season.

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Hamilton will follow in the footsteps of another seven-time world champion in Michael Schumacher by trying to win with the Maranello-based team, who have not been able to claim a championship since 2008.

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Now 44-year-old Button, who is still going strong in his own racing career, has added what this move could mean for Hamilton's F1 career.

“Surprised? Yeah!", the 2009 world champion proclaimed.

“It’s a big deal making this change in your career when you’ve been at one team for so long, to suddenly jump into someone else’s team, it’s tough. So fair play to Lewis, it’s a toughie.

“Obviously 12 years at Mercedes is longer than most people spend in Formula 1. So to spend it with one team and achieve what they have, maybe he also wanted something different, to spice it up a little bit.

“We all get to that point in our career where it’s like: ‘you know what? I’ve done what I set out to achieve’ and you choose to retire. Whereas he’s gone the other route and gone: ‘you know what? I feel I need a change, I’m going to go to Ferrari.’

“I cannot wait to see how he goes in the Ferrari. The weird thing is it’s quite an early call though, right? It’s a year before he’ll be stepping into the Ferrari, so how is that going to be at Mercedes?”

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Michael Schumacher Jenson Button