Lewis Hamilton is poised for a shock move to Ferrari for the 2025 season.
A number of senior sources say a deal between the seven-time champion and Ferrari has been agreed and could be announced as early as Thursday.
Ferrari wants Hamilton to join Charles Leclerc for the 2025 season.
The 39-year-old signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes for 2024 and 2025 last summer but it seems he can leave after one season, should he choose.
The possibility of Hamilton moving to Ferrari in 2025 was reported in the Italian and Spanish media on Thursday.
There have been intermittent rumours of Hamilton moving to Ferrari for years. Until now, these have turned out to have little substance, but a number of sources say this is different.
Ferrari and Mercedes have refused to comment.
Hamilton won the most recent of his seven world titles in 2020 and signed his latest two-year Mercedes deal in August, which would extend his period with the team to 13 years.
Ferrari admitted to holding talks with then-reigning world champion Hamilton in 2019 about joining them in the future.
Red Bull have dominated the sport over the past two seasons since the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when Hamilton lost out to Max Verstappen after former FIA race director Michael Masi ignored the rules in operating a late-race safety car period.
Since then, he has been driven by the desire to avenge what he believes to be an injustice and win his eighth title.
Ferrari have also had a difficult few seasons, and the two teams were locked in a battle for second in the constructors’ championship last year, which Mercedes narrowly won despite the Ferrari being the faster car by the end of the season.
Hamilton’s move will send shockwaves through F1 – similar to those when he chose to leave McLaren for Mercedes for the 2013 season.
At the time, many questioned Hamilton’s decision, but it turned out to be remarkably prescient – he and the team dominated F1 from the 2014 season, making the Briton the most successful driver in F1 history.
The lure of Ferrari, the sport’s most historic and evocative team, is strong for many drivers. Until now, Hamilton seemed to be immune to it – he has said on several occasions that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Mercedes, and the pair have a number of projects together, especially on diversity and racial equality.
Mercedes would be looking for a replacement for Hamilton at the end of the season, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz would be looking for a new job.
Max Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until 2027, Leclerc is committed to Ferrari and Lando Norris has also just signed a new deal at McLaren.
