Seven-time F1 champion Hamilton to join Ferrari in 2025

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton will join Ferrari for the 2025 season after signing a multi-year deal with the Italian outfit.

Hamilton, 39, will end his 11-year association with Mercedes at the end of the 2024 campaign, having exercised a release option in the two-year contract he signed last summer.

Joining from McLaren in 2013, six of his record-equalling seven championship wins have come during his time with the Silver Arrows and he boasts the most race wins in the sport with 103.

Confirming his departure from Mercedes, Hamilton 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. 

"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."

Mercedes have fallen behind rivals Red Bull since the dramatic 2021 season but are hopeful of closing the gap on Max Verstappen and Co ahead of the 2024 season opener in Bahrain on March 2.

Hamilton will join Charles Leclerc, leaving Spaniard Carlos Sainz without a drive and opening the door to a straight swap between Ferrari and Mercedes.

For years, F1's most dominant driver has appeared immune to the historic pull of the Prancing Horse but is set to see out the final years of his career with the iconic team.

His idol Ayrton Senna had plans to join Ferrari before he was tragically killed driving for Williams in 1994.

And now Hamilton will follow in the footsteps of some of the sport's most legendary figures including Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda.