Hamilton set for shock switch to Ferrari in 2025: Reports

LONDON: Seven times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is set for a shock switch from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025 as replacement for Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, according to multiple media reports on Thursday (Feb 1).

The Italian team want the 39-year-old Briton to partner current driver Charles Leclerc, according to the BBC, Sky, Autosport, Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport and other media.

Sky Sports television said it understood Mercedes principal Toto Wolff would brief the team before a formal announcement later on Thursday.

Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013 and won his first title with McLaren in 2008. His current contract is due to expire at the end of next year, but the deal reportedly contains a clause allowing him to leave after one season.

Hamilton won the last of his world titles in 2020 but lost the 2021 championship in controversial fashion to Max Verstappen, 13 years his junior.

The Dutch Red Bull driver has dominated ever since, while Hamilton finished sixth in the drivers' standings in 2022 and third in 2023.

Ferrari, who have admitted they held discussions with Hamilton in 2019 about joining them in the future, declined to comment on the reports they were negotiating a switch for the 2025 season.

A Ferrari spokesman said: "We do not comment on rumours."

Mercedes did not reply when contacted by AFP.