Lewis Hamilton on verge of shock move to Ferrari

LEWIS Hamilton is poised for a shock move to Ferrari for the 2025 season, BBC Sport understands.

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 want 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.

BBC Sport has since verified the fact that it is a serious possibility.

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.

Sources have told BBC Sport that all Mercedes team members have been called to a team briefing with boss Toto Wolff and technical director James Allison at 14:00

GMT on Thursday. This is likely to be to announce Hamilton is leaving.

The Hamilton deal has happened quickly. Ferrari were in negotiations over a contract extension with Carlos Sainz, whose deal runs out at the end of this season.

But Ferrari president John Elkann then discovered that Hamilton was a possibility and moved to secure his signature. The two are friends and have met each other socially on a number of occasions in recent years.

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.—BBCSport