Lewis Hamilton set for shock Ferrari move from Mercedes in 2025

Lewis Hamilton is set to make a bombshell switch to Ferrari in 2025, according to multiple reports.

The shock move would end his long-standing spell with Mercedes in Formula 1, despite having extended his contract with the team last summer to the end of the 2025 season.

But reports now claim the seven-time world champion has an escape clause in his deal with the Silver Arrows, which would allow him to join the Scuderia for the start of the 2025 campaign.

With Charles Leclerc having signed a long-term extension with Ferrari last week, Hamilton would replace Carlos Sainz next year at the iconic Italian team. Sainz’s contract with Ferrari runs out at the end of the 2024 season and his future is now unclear.

Mercedes refused to comment on the speculation when approached by The Independent on Thursday morning.

Hamilton has won six of his seven world championships at Mercedes after joining from McLaren in 2013, in what was then a surprising move.

The 39-year-old missed out on a record-breaking eighth title in 2021 in controversial circumstances during the final race in Abu Dhabi, while Mercedes have dropped off the pace in the two years since as Max Verstappen’s Red Bull have stormed to regular victories.

Hamilton was heavily linked with Ferrari last May, denying the reports and insisting he wanted to stay at Mercedes “for life”.

Lewis Hamilton could race his final season with Mercedes in 2024 (Getty Images)

The Brit and team-mate George Russell both penned two-year extensions last summer, seemingly reinforcing Hamilton’s commitment to getting Mercedes back on top.

Yet the lure of Ferrari and joining the greats of yesteryear, like Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda, seems to have swayed Hamilton’s mindset as he targets that eighth world championship in the final years of his career.