Lewis Hamilton has achieved the highest number of Grand Prix wins to date with 103 holds the record for the most Formula 1 poles with 104, and is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most F1 driver championships at seven. Scuderia Ferrari boasts 242 wins 249 poles, and 16 constructor championships. In 2025, the most successful driver and the most renowned team in the history of single-seat racing will come together.
Hamilton raced for the McLaren team for six seasons, which brought him into the sport more than a decade ago before he left. He has spent 11 years at Mercedes, and this number will become 12 in 2024. Up to 2022 he has secured a win in every season he has competed. He has finished worse than fourth in the driver championship only three times in 17 years and has never finished worse than sixth. He brings the best resume of any racing driver for Ferrari and joins a program that hasn’t won a driver’s title since Kimi Räikkönen beat Hamilton by a single point in the 2007 rookie season.
Ferrari has a long history of signing big tickets, but the records of those drivers mix when they actually don the teams famed red. Michael Schumacher won five of his seven titles at Ferrari. Kimi Räikkönen won his only title in red but was soon ousted from the team and spent most of his later career at Ferrari as a second driver to other stars. Despite winning many races, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel did not win championships at Ferrari.
For a driver of Lewis Hamilton’s caliber the measure of success will be whether he can win a championship with Ferrari. It could potentially be his eighth title but Hamilton has another year with Toto Wolff’s team at Mercedes to secure another victory.
With Hamilton’s recent contract extension allowing him to leave Mercedes through a release clause, the most successful driver team pairing in the sport’s history has ended. Mercedes has a potential future leader in George Russell and an open second seat, which immediately becomes one of the most coveted in auto racing. Known free agents include Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, and soon former Ferrari driver Sainz, but Ferrari has caused a stir by signing a driver under contract for 2025, and Mercedes could similarly shock the world.
In a statement released by Mercedes Hamilton said: I have spent an incredible 11 years with this team and am very proud of what we have achieved together. Mercedes has been a part of my life since I was 13 years old. It’s a place where I have grown up making the decision to leave one of the hardest I have ever made. But it’s the right time for me to take this step and Im excited to face a new challenge. I will always be grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family especially Toto’s friendship and leadership, and I want to finish on a high note together. I am 100% committed to giving my best performance this season and making my last year with the Silver Arrows memorable.
Earlier this week extensions for Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris suggested the 2025 Formula 1 free agent market would be less chaotic than expected. Since Hamilton last changed teams, his move is not only the biggest single transaction in Formula 1 but also opens the door to ending the silly season for all silly seasons. Next year, the Formula 1 grid will change completely.