Sports
Why Lewis Hamilton is quitting Mercedes to form a Ferrari ‘superteam’
It’s the end of an era — and the biggest driver move in Formula One history.
After 12 seasons, six world championships and 82 race wins, Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes for Ferrari.
It’s a day most thought would never come. Hamilton himself said last year he expected to remain with Mercedes “til my last days”, and there was “no place I would rather be.”
But the appeal of a shock move to Ferrari, announced for 2025 on Thursday, proved too strong for the seven-time champion seeking a record-breaking eighth world title.
It’s the kind of move F1 fans — and the figures at the top of the sport itself — could have only dreamed of ever happening. Partnering Hamilton, F1’s most famous and successful driver, with Ferrari, F1’s most famous and successful team, is box office stuff.
GO DEEPER
How Lewis Hamilton transcended Formula One stardom
Ferrari will likely enter the 2025 season with the strongest lineup in F1 as Hamilton races alongside Charles Leclerc, its young star. As ‘superteam’ lineups go, short of the implausible prospect of Hamilton teaming up with Max Verstappen, it’s hard to think of any bigger.
Regardless of the outcome, this will be one of the defining stories in F1 for the next couple of years as the 39-year-old Hamilton bids to write the latest — and potentially final — chapter of his glittering F1 career in Ferrari’s famous red cars.
But why quit Mercedes on the eve of the new season, for a team that hasn’t won a championship in 15 years?
Since winning his first drivers’ championship with Mercedes (the second of his career), Hamilton has been inextricably linked with the Silver Arrows. (Darren Heath/Getty Images)
A loss of faith in Mercedes?
Hamilton and Mercedes formed one of the greatest teams the sport has ever seen.
Six of Hamilton’s seven world titles arrived between 2014 and 2020, his only defeat in that stretch coming to teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016. Together Hamilton and Mercedes dominated F1, seeing off the threat of Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, once vaunted as the combination that could put an end to years of silver success through 2017-20.
Hamilton came within one correct decision by race control at the 2021 finale in Abu Dhabi from breaking Michael Schumacher’s record and winning an eighth world title, only for Verstappen to pass him on the final lap restart and deny him the crown.
The controversy put Hamilton on a redemption arc. Fuelled by that heartache, 2022 became the season he was due to reclaim what should’ve been his — only for Mercedes to build a car that simply wasn’t up to the job. Hamilton knew from the moment he first drove the W13 it wasn’t good enough to win a title. It wasn’t even good enough to win a race, resigning him to the first season of his F1 career without a single victory.
The struggles continued through last year. Hamilton was often frustrated by the limitations of his car, leaving him to endure another winless season as Verstappen and Red Bull dominated proceedings. After the last race of the year in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton summed up his mood as “not great” and cast doubt on anyone catching Red Bull in 2024: “You can pretty much guess where they’re going to be next year.”
Hamilton’s fortunes have dipped since winning his seventh drivers’ championship came in 2020. (Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Mercedes had already set about overhauling its car for 2024, having ditched its radical ‘zeropod’ concept midway through last year. Expectations were being managed, but there was greater confidence from the team that the car coming out of Brackley this year would not carry the same “spiteful” traits, to quote technical director James Allison, and that it would give Hamilton a better chance of success.
Hamilton won’t get an extended run in the Mercedes car until preseason testing begins in Bahrain later this month. A first taste will come in a shakedown at Silverstone when the car is launched on Feb. 14, and Hamilton will have driven a model in the simulator which can give an indication of what to expect. But there won’t be a true understanding of the W15 car’s potential until he drives it for real.
The decision to jump ship now suggests doubt in Mercedes’ ability to change course and get back to the summit from which it once looked down on the F1 competition. Were Hamilton fully confident Mercedes was the place to be to win the eighth title he craves, he wouldn’t consider going elsewhere, particularly given the emotional ties he has with the team.
It will give Hamilton and Mercedes a ‘long goodbye’ through 2024, one final year together to try and succeed. But there will also be the awkwardness of the team planning for the post-Hamilton era without his involvement, gradually phasing him out of top-level meetings.
What Ferrari can offer
This is the big question mark over the move. Mercedes has shown few signs of being able to seriously challenge for a championship in the past two years — yet neither has Ferrari.
The team started the new set of F1 regulations strongly in 2022, going toe-to-toe with Red Bull before regressing over the race distances. While it was the only team besides Red Bull to win a race last year, courtesy of Carlos Sainz in Singapore, Ferrari’s main battle lay with Mercedes. It ultimately lost the race for second in the championship by three points.
Like Mercedes, Ferrari has promised an overhaul of its car for this year, which will feature 95 percent new components. It will lay the foundations for Hamilton’s first Ferrari F1 car in 2025, the last under the current rule set before the design rules change significantly again for 2026. That is the year most regard to offer the best chance of ending Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance.
Hamilton raced for now-Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur’s ART Grand Prix team in his early days, and they have remained in close contact ever since.(Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images)
Hamilton’s age also needs to be considered. He’ll be 40 by the time he joins Ferrari, and although he remains in peak physical condition and has expressed zero doubts over his long-term future, he’s not in the position to invest in a long-term project like many of his younger counterparts.
It means there needs to be immediate success once Hamilton joins in 2025, but his pending arrival will only help build momentum at Maranello. The team is on a recruitment drive, and the lure of working with Hamilton can only help it attract top technical talent who could aid its bid to win another championship.
On a pure competitive level, going from Mercedes to Ferrari looks like a sideways move. But there is one thing Ferrari offered Hamilton that Mercedes — and, frankly, no other team — cannot.
The romance behind the move
Ferrari has always enjoyed a mythical air in F1. It is ingrained in the sport’s history. You think of F1, and you think of Ferrari.
No team carries such prestige and prowess. Even in the fallow periods without a championship, like the current one stretching back to 2008, it has remained a team the majority of drivers dream of racing for one day. Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ team principal, even acknowledged in 2019 that “probably it’s in every driver’s head to drive at Ferrari one day.”
Or, as Vettel once put it: “Everyone is a Ferrari fan. Even if they say they’re not, they are Ferrari fans.”
There is a degree of romance behind the move. Hamilton has owned Ferrari road cars, and has a close friendship with John Elkann, Ferrari’s president. It will also see Hamilton reunite with Fred Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal. Hamilton raced for Vasseur’s ART Grand Prix team when he was on the ranks leading to F1, and they have remained in close contact ever since.
Hamilton has always held great respect for the history of F1. He’s passionate about its roots and its history, meaning the weight of Ferrari will not be lost on him. It’s a team that so many of F1’s greatest names have driven for at one stage of their careers.
To succeed with Ferrari is, in many ways, the ultimate story in F1 — and could be huge for Hamilton’s own legacy. For his final hurrah in F1 to be with Ferrari, potentially winning the record-breaking eighth world championship, would surely be the ultimate way to end his storied career.
The alternative? Ferrari fails to deliver a car good enough for Hamilton to return to the top. The strategic miscues and mistakes that happened all too often in recent years are a source of frustration. There is no eighth world championship.
Even in that scenario, Hamilton still gets to fulfill the dream so many F1 drivers hold, and very few actually realize, of racing for Ferrari. Seeing him in those famous red overalls will take some getting used to, but it’s now going to become a reality.
It’s worth remembering when Hamilton left McLaren for Mercedes in 2013, when it had just a single race win to its name since returning to F1, the decision was widely doubted. It proved to be a masterstroke. He’ll hope his judgment has proven correct once again.
(Lead image of Lewis Hamilton: Dan Istitene, Bryn Lennon / Getty Images; Design: John Bradford/The Athletic)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
ATLANTA — The FBI and Atlanta Police Department are getting ready for a massive security operation ahead of the World Cup semifinals between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium.
Both agencies have used drones to search for potential threats on the ground and in the sky. The FBI is enforcing the Federal Aviation Administration’s Temporary Flight Restrictions around the venue.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones nationwide since the World Cup began. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office Marlo Graham said 86 of those drones were seized in Atlanta.
Graham said the FBI uses a “mechanism” that allows agents to see unauthorized drones in restricted airspace. Agents then work to mitigate the threat posed by unknown drones.
“We’ve been able to safely land drones that have been unauthorized in the flight restricted area,” Graham said.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones at World Cup events since the tournament started. (FBI Atlanta)
While the FBI treats every drone as a potential threat, Graham said the threat level can increase depending on the size of the drone and how close it gets to the stadium.
“Obviously, the closer to the venue, the larger the crowd. We are fortunate here in Atlanta that we have a closed dome stadium,” Graham said. “We don’t want the game to be impacted because a hobbyist couldn’t control their drone, and it lands right when one of our star players was getting ready to score a goal.”
EXCLUSIVE: FBI ADDS ALLEGED COVID FRAUDSTER TO MOST WANTED LIST
The Atlanta Police Department’s Drone Unit has helped the FBI track down people suspected of flying in restricted zones.
Sgt. Kindu Franklin said most of the people caught flying drones around World Cup venues are hobbyists with no intent to harm the crowd of soccer fans below.
“In some cases, they just recently bought a drone just for FIFA to get some of the cool footage that they want to put up on their social media,” Franklin said. “There are different ways that you can weaponize these drones. So, we’re operating in a proactive manner.”
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission at the World Cup focuses on surveillance. (FOX)
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission is focused on surveillance. Officers are looking for potential threats, traffic issues and people the FBI suspects are flying drones illegally.
“So, what we want to do is give our command staff a view that they can’t get from the ground,” Sgt. James Cunningham with APD’s Drone Unit said.
ARMED MAN ARRESTED AT US CAPITOL BARRICADE AS POLICE PROBE WHY HE DROVE ONTO RESTRICTED GROUNDS
Cunningham’s unit can launch drones remotely from handheld controllers. Other drones are launched from docking stations strategically placed across the city, and officers control them from the back of an SUV using a computer and a PlayStation controller.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from docks strategically placed across the city. They are controlled by a computer and a PlayStation controller. (Fox News)
The drone docks are used year-round to help the police get an aerial view of emergency situations before officers arrive. The computer shows the drone pilot where all the police body cameras and vehicles are in the area, allowing them to communicate better with officers on the ground.
For the World Cup, the drone docks let the department have more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster.
“It’s going to cut down time. We’re going to get there quick. And then you’re going to get an aerial perspective of what you can’t see on the ground,” Cunningham said.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from docks to get more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster. (Fox News)
Cunningham said the drone unit has completed more than 1,400 flights and logged more than 550 flight hours since the beginning of June.
“Some people haven’t even done that in years or haven’t even reached those numbers in the life of their drone unit,” Cunningham said.
“We train for the environment. We live here, so we know what to expect,” Anais Paredes, an APD drone pilot, said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The FBI is asking that hobbyist drone pilots know the Temporary Flight Restrictions in their area before taking off.
There is a one-mile restriction around World Cup stadiums on non-match days, and a three-mile restriction on game day.
LAS VEGAS — From the time Austin Reaves joined the Lakers in 2021 as an undrafted prospect, his basketball life centered around playing with a savant in LeBron James.
That no longer will be the case.
Reaves re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $180-million deal, but James decided to move on as he prepares to play an unprecedented 24th season.
Reaves was stunned when he heard about James’ decision while playing golf in Lake Tahoe. Nearly two weeks later, Reaves says he still is trying to process the development.
“I kind of was thinking about it last night when I got here,” Reaves said Monday in his first news conference since re-signing. “Starting the season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. He’s kind of all I’ve ever known. Just him being around, joking around, acting like he’s 15. But that’s his decision and like I said in Tahoe, anytime I’ve talked about it, I got nothing but love and respect for him and yeah, let’s play some golf soon.”
The contract Reaves signed was the richest in NBA history for an undrafted player. At 28 and entering his sixth season, Reaves wanted to stay in L.A.
“I wanted to be a Laker the whole time. We had that period from when the season ended until the first [of July] to get something done and we figured it out before then,” he said. “My heart was in L.A. the whole time.”
Reaves will become one of the de facto leaders of the Lakers along with Luka Doncic. The two once again will be one of the most dynamic backcourts in the NBA.
“Obviously my relationship with the guys that were on the team last year,” Reaves said of why he wanted to stay. “And then Luka. I mean, he’s one of my best friends on this planet. Talk to him almost every single day. He sends me videos of his golf swing and asks me what he can do to get better and I tell him I’m not a coach.”
The Lakers have overhauled the roster: All the players who started alongside Reaves in the playoffs last spring are gone. With the signing of former Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams on Monday, the Lakers have eight new players, all of them arriving either via trades, free agency or the draft.
“They’re good,” Reaves said of the moves. “Obviously, I’ve been with the guys that are leaving for a couple years and with Bron for five years and I hate to see guys like that go. But the pieces that are coming in, I’m very excited about and I’m happy to get started today and see where it goes.”
Walker Kessler dunks during a game between the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers on March 23.
(Rob Gray / Associated Press)
One of those new players is Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center the Lakers felt fit best around Doncic and Reaves because he’s a lob threat, rim-protector and good defender and is developing his three-point shooting.
The Lakers got him from the Utah Jazz in a trade and then signed him to a four-year, $130-million contract. The Lakers sent out two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033) and two first-round pick swaps (2028, 2030).
Kessler, who played only five games last season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, is aware the Lakers paid a big price to get him.
“It definitely makes you feel a certain way when you know an organization believes in you,” Kessler said Monday in his introduction. “And I think what they’ve invested, they’re showing that belief in a monetary value, not just with money, but like you said, assets. And for me, I’m somebody that if I know that they have that belief in me, I’m gonna run through a brick wall for them. That’s just how I’ve been wired my whole life and it definitely makes it a lot easier to go out there and compete for a team.”
Power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili could become a fan favorite, in part because of the tattoo he has on his lower left leg — a No. 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant.
Mamukelashvili, who signed a four-year, $52-million deal, averaged 11.2 points last season with the Toronto Raptors and shot 52.3% from the field, including 38.9% from three-point range.
“I got a Mamba Mentality tattoo. I just love his mindset,” Mamukelashvili said. “Growing up, I used to always say, “Mah-moo Mentality!’ So, I know it’s a little far from each other. But we are getting closer.”
When guard Collin Sexton, another new Laker, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, James left and signed with the Lakers. When Sexton signed a two-year, $19-million deal with the Lakers this month, James left again.
Sexton could only laugh about missing out on playing with James.
“He’s just leaving every time I arrive,” Sexton said, laughing. “That’s what it is. No, but one of the other coaches made the same joke yesterday. It’s cool, I know. I’ve always wanted to team up with him for sure, but it’s definitely cool knowing him and just having normal conversations and stuff, so that’s cool.”
Sexton averaged 15.4 points and shot 48.5% last season with Chicago and Charlotte. He’s ready for whatever role coach JJ Redick and the Lakers want for him.
“They believe in me,” he said. “And I just feel like at the end of the day, whenever a coach believes in you and like he said, he’s going to be hard on me and yelling and screaming at me. So, I like that. I think that’s what gets the best from me.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
WWE will swing for the fences for the second straight year when it hosts one of its major premium live events of the year at a Major League Baseball ballpark.
The company announced on Monday that Survivor Series: WarGames will take place at Daikin Park in Houston – the home of the Astros – on Saturday, Nov. 28. It follows up the success of last year’s Survivor Series: WarGames event, which took place at Petco Park in San Diego – the home of the Padres.
COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL
Roman Reigns lands a Superman Punch on Brock Lesnar during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 29, 2025. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
“Houston is the perfect host city to celebrate this milestone chapter in Survivor Series’ storied history, and we look forward to partnering with Houston First and the Houston Astros to deliver an unforgettable event,” WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said in a news release.
WarGames is a highly anticipated match, which has taken place yearly among wrestlers on the WWE roster since 2022. The premium live event has also seen some dramatic returns.
Stephanie Vaquer enters the ring during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)
In 2023, CM Punk came back to WWE at the end of the show and shocked the entire sports world. Randy Orton also made his in-ring return during the match. Last year, a mystery attacker interrupted the WarGames match and gave the win to The Vision and company.
It’s unclear what is in the cards right now for the 40th edition of the event.
“We are proud to be able to help bring one of the world’s premier entertainment brands to Houston for what promises to be an unforgettable holiday weekend,” said Michael Heckman, President and CEO of Houston First, which partnered with WWE to bring the event back to Houston.
Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio celebrate their win during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Hosting WWE Survivor Series will bring thousands of passionate fans to our city and generate a significant economic impact for community. Houston has earned a reputation for delivering world-class entertainment events, and we look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to our destination.”
-
California7 seconds agoThe fierce competition to get married at California’s most popular public buildings
-
Colorado6 minutes agoColorado’s Front Range Passenger Rail eyes stops at future Broncos, Summit stadiums
-
Connecticut12 minutes agoWhy Connecticut’s flag is blue and what its symbols stand for
-
Delaware18 minutes agoA Delaware taste of summer since 1957 is now being sold in Hockessin
-
Florida24 minutes agoSkunks, warthogs & monkeys, oh my! Here’s what Florida records reveal about 140+ captive animal escapes since 2022
-
Georgia30 minutes agoGeorgia football defensive depth chart entering fall camp
-
Hawaii36 minutes agoHilo woman killed in Kona traffic crash – West Hawaii Today
-
Idaho42 minutes agoIdaho Falls City Council delays vote on proposed alcohol ordinance – Local News 8
