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Hamilton's Move To Ferrari Kept Under Tight Secrecy

Formula 1 great Lewis Hamilton kept his Ferrari move so closely guarded that he didn't even tell his parents until the day it was announced.

The British driver rocked the F1 world when it was announced on Feb. 1 he was joining the Italian manufacturer next year, despite signing a new contract with Mercedes last summer.

"I didn't speak to anybody. I didn't tell my parents till the day of it being announced. So, no one knew," Hamilton told a BBC podcast. "I really wanted to do it for myself. Ultimately, I had to find out what would be the best for me."

It then emerged that the two-year deal penned with Mercedes and announced last August was actually for one year with an option for a second year, which Hamilton did not take.

Hamilton informed Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff of his decision to leave only the day before over breakfast at Wolff's home. They have become close friends over the years after Hamilton joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013.

The 39-year-old Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have a record seven F1 titles each, and Hamilton is the outright leader with 103 race wins and 104 pole positions.

Hamilton has spoken in the past of the lure of racing with Ferrari, where Schumacher won five of his world titles.

"I mean, the opportunity just popped up and I was like, 'OK, I've got to think for a second,'" Hamilton said. "(But) I didn't have a lot of time to think and I had to just go with my gut feeling and I decided to take the opportunity."

Hamilton begins his last season with Mercedes on Saturday at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

His last win was at the Saudi Arabian GP in the penultimate race of the 2021 campaign, where Max Verstappen won the first of his three straight titles with Red Bull.

Mick Schumacher: "Lewis Hamilton's Seat Is Free, Mercedes Know What I Can Do"

Mick Schumacher hopes his "dream will come true" with an F1 return.

The exit of Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes has created a coveted vacancy for the 2025 F1 season.

Schumacher will be Mercedes' F1 reserve driver this year, and Alpine's World Endurance Championship driver.

"I'm of course aware that Lewis' Mercedes seat will then be free," he told Sky Germany.

"I'm still keeping an eye on Formula 1 and hopefully the dream will come true again.

"But in the end it's important that I also do my things and see my role as a reserve driver - and especially my role as a WEC driver in the foreground.

"If I perform well, let's see where it takes me.

"I'm sure that Mercedes know what I can do.

"You've also seen it in the simulation sessions, in the junior categories and at Haas.

"Hopefully it'll be enough to have more people in the WEC and Formula 1 to impress."

Schumacher spent two years as a full-time F1 driver with Haas before losing his seat.

His career was revived by Mercedes last year in a reserve driver role with simulation duties.

Racing again this year, eight times in the WEC series, could put Schumacher back in the shop window for F1 teams.

He described his new WEC opportunity: "Having a roof over your head and not being able to see the tyres from the cockpit is something I'm not familiar with.

"There are a few things that are new to me.

"There will also be GT3 and LMP3 cars on the track at the same time.

"It will be unusual and a challenge. But I'm really looking forward to it.

"What will be a big factor in particular is tyre management.

"We start off with cold tyres and have to keep them alive for two stints.

"That requires a lot of control and self-control not to simply burn the tyre. That can also be helpful when we hopefully go back to Formula 1 at some point."

Lewis Hamilton To Ferrari 'leaked' By Toto Wolff As Mercedes Boss Rules Out 17-year-old Replacement

Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari inadvertently became the biggest deal of transfer deadline day - and it was engineered by his own boss.

Hamilton stunned the world of sport on February 1 by confirming he will leave Mercedes to join the Scuderia for the 2025 season.

Mercedes team boss Wolff was keen to get news of Hamilton's exit outCredit: Getty

The 39-year-old had initially agreed to a two-year extension to his Silver Arrows contract last summer before performing a U-turn.

The Brit is entering his twelfth season with the Brackley-based team, with many expecting him to finish his career in a Mercedes car.

Yet on football's deadline day, news dramatically broke that Hamilton had activated a release clause in his contract to head to Ferrari.

The Italian outlet confirmed reports later that same day with a short statement and the manner of the low-key announcement for such a huge move indicated they'd been forced to jump the gun.

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Hamilton will partner Charles Leclerc for Ferrari in 2025Credit: AFP

Speaking as part of BBC podcast series 'F1: Back at Base', the seven-time world champion driver revealed: "I didn't speak to anybody.

"I didn't tell my parents till the day of it being announced. So, no one knew.

"I really wanted to do it for myself. Ultimately, I had to find out what would be the best for me."

The move will be only the second of Hamilton's career, having won the world title with McLaren in 2008, before moving to Mercedes where he won a further six championships.

Finding his replacement will be a daunting task, with Hamilton and Mercedes the most successful driver-team partnership in F1 history.

Among the names linked is the team's junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has already been dubbed "the next Max Verstappen".

Antonelli has been tipped as the future of motorsportCredit: Getty

The 17-year-old is such a precocious talent that he will compete in F2 this year, with an idea of potentially joining the F1 grid in 2025.

Williams have already ruled out becoming a potential stepping stone for the teenager to build experience for Mercedes as they were for George Russell.

That presents a potential risk of another leading team poaching Antonelli should Mercedes fail to offer a clear pathway to the grid, as was the case when McLaren pinched Oscar Piastri from Alpine.

However, Wolff insisted he won't be rushing his decision to replace Hamilton and is wary of ruining Antonelli's development by promoting him too fast.

"We got that curveball thrown at us with Lewis in the beginning of February. I want to do the opposite when choosing the driver for next year," he said ahead of the season opener in Bahrain this weekend.

Mercedes could have had Hamilton and Verstappen togetherCredit: Getty

"It's clear Kimi has been in our junior category since he was 11 and we have had great pleasure in watching him grow as a young man and growing through the ranks.

"But I also want to take a little bit of pressure off him. He's 17. He's won everything he needed to win in his rookie season, but I think he is going to be a Formula 1 driver. He's going to be a very, very successful driver in Formula 1.

"But he hasn't started his Formula 2 campaign yet. They had a difficult test in the first days in Bahrain and we shall see how this develops. I want to wait out the first F2 races.

"There are many very good pilots in Formula 1 available for next year or so and this is all going to come into the equation when deciding on the driver line-up for next year, but that's not going to happen anytime soon."

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