Hamilton to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari at the end of the 2024 Formula One season.
Lewis Hamilton, Formula One's most successful driver of all time, will race for Ferrari beginning in 2025 after activating a release option in his contract with Mercedes in August.
The shocking news, confirmed first by Mercedes and then in a one-line statement from Ferrari, came after a day of mounting speculation, with the world waiting for updates from Maranello and Brackley.
"Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract," Ferrari said.
"I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I'm so proud of what we have achieved together. Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old," said Hamilton in the Mercedes statement.
"It's a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make."
"But the time is right for me to take this step and I'm excited to be taking on a new challenge."
Hamilton stated that he wanted to finish his time at Mercedes on a high note and was "100% committed to delivering the best performance I can this season and making my final year with the Silver Arrows one to remember."
The 39-year-old Briton will replace Spanish driver Carlos Sainz at Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc, giving the Italian team a world champion in one of their cars for the first time since Germany's Sebastian Vettel left in 2020.
The most significant driver change since Hamilton left a winning McLaren for then-unproven Mercedes at the end of 2012 came as a surprise, despite frequent speculation that it could happen one day.
Ferrari are the oldest, most glamorous, and successful team, but they haven't won a driver's title since 2007 and, like Hamilton, are eager to return to the top. The Briton hasn't won a race since December 2021.
His seven championships are matched only by German Michael Schumacher, who raced for Ferrari from 1996 to 2006 during a golden era in Maranello before returning to Mercedes.
Hamilton's switch raised many questions about why he chose to leave a month before the season began, but it extends his career into the sport's new engine era in 2026 and keeps him in the spotlight.
Despite his loyalty to Mercedes, Hamilton has maintained a close relationship with Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur, having won Formula Three and GP2 (now Formula Two) championships with the Frenchman's ART team as a junior in 2005 and 2006.
He'll leave Mercedes with a long list of records.
"In terms of a team-driver pairing, our relationship with Lewis has become the most successful the sport has seen, and that's something we can look back on with pride," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
"Lewis will always be an important part of Mercedes motorsport history."
"However, we knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come. We accept Lewis's decision to seek a fresh challenge, and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate."
Hamilton, who has won a record 103 races and 104 pole positions in a career that began in 2007, has not had the car to challenge Red Bull and Max Verstappen in recent seasons.
Last year, the Briton finished third overall, with Mercedes taking second place.
Hamilton will have a well-established and quick teammate in Leclerc, whose contract was extended last week for several more seasons.
Mercedes must now begin the search for a partner for Britain's George Russell, with Sainz being one potential candidate, though the Spaniard has also been linked to Audi when Sauber become their works team in 2026.
SportsLigue