Lewis Hamilton stunned the motorsport world, including Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, when he announced on February 1, 2024, that he would be leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari on a multi-year contract starting in 2025. His decision came as a surprise, especially considering he had signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes just months earlier. However, five months after committing to the team, Hamilton informed Wolff over breakfast that he had activated a clause allowing him to exit after just one season.
Despite eventually ending his 945-day winless streak with victories at the British Grand Prix and later at Spa, Mercedes’ performance throughout the 2024 season was inconsistent. Early in the season, Wolff admitted the team did not fully understand their car, and by the end of the year, some of the W15’s handling issues remained unresolved. Hamilton finished the season seventh in the Drivers’ Championship—the first time in his career he failed to place within the top six.
Meanwhile, Ferrari showed significant improvement, securing five race wins and coming within 14 points of winning the Constructors’ Championship. This led to speculation about whether Hamilton had foreseen Mercedes’ struggles before even setting foot in the 2024 season. Speaking on the Sky F1 podcast, Ted Kravitz wondered whether Hamilton’s move was an instinctive decision or a well-informed choice. He questioned whether Hamilton had insight into Mercedes’ upcoming struggles before making the bold switch to Ferrari.
Kravitz asked his fellow analyst, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok, for his thoughts. Chandhok believed only Hamilton could truly answer that question, but he suggested that the decision was likely a calculated risk rather than a certainty. He reasoned that while Hamilton had insight into Mercedes’ internal challenges, he could not have known for sure how Ferrari or any other team would perform. However, Hamilton had previously expressed concerns about his input not being fully acknowledged within Mercedes, which may have influenced his choice to seek a fresh start elsewhere.
Chandhok compared the situation to Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, which was also considered risky at the time but ultimately proved successful. He suggested that Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari could be another well-judged gamble.
When asked whether Hamilton had driven the W15 before deciding to leave, Wolff dismissed the idea. He stated that Hamilton had likely made his choice over the winter and preferred to keep it private before formally announcing it. Wolff acknowledged that once Hamilton had made up his mind, there was no turning back.
