Lewis Hamilton will say goodbye to Mercedes at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of his move to Ferrari. But it will still be a while before he appears in their famous colours.
Unlike Carlos Sainz (Williams), Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Hamilton won’t test for Ferrari in Abu Dhabi next week. Fred Vasseur hoped he could get the seven-time world champion in the car, but he was thwarted.
Hamilton remains a Mercedes employee beyond the chequered flag at Yas Marina. And the team would like him to carry out a series of commercial commitments before he leaves.
Fans may have to wait until the F175 launch event in February for their first public glimpse of Hamilton alongside Charles Leclerc. Before that, he could carry out private testing at the Fiorano circuit.
Under the rules, he’s able to run in a two-year-old car. While the 2025 challenger may be different in character, it will give him a first opportunity to gel with his new engineers.
Riccardo Adami will likely be the voice in his ear, having previously worked with Sainz and Sebastian Vettel. But Vasseur says Ferrari haven’t chosen Hamilton’s engineer yet and won’t do so until the off-season.
Charles Leclerc may have more dialogue with Ferrari engineers than Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton may head into 2025 with a chip on his shoulder as he tries to prove he isn’t in decline. 2024 has arguably been the toughest season of his career, with the Briton set to finish outside the top seven in the standings for the first time.
That reflects Mercedes’ limitations, but teammate George Russell is almost certain to outscore him, having thrashed him 18-5 in qualifying. Leclerc will be just as tough an opponent.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Naomi Schiff said Leclerc’s Italian fluency will be a key advantage if he and Hamilton are closely matched next season. It could make the Englishman ‘paranoid’.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Max Verstappen |
429 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
349 |
| 3 |
Charles Leclerc |
341 |
| 4 |
Oscar Piastri |
291 |
| 5 |
Carlos Sainz Jr |
272 |
| 6 |
George Russell |
235 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
211 |
| 8 |
Sergio Perez |
152 |
Hamilton has started to learn Italian, according to one report, because he knows it was helpful to the great Michael Schumacher. But it will be a long time before he has the same grasp as Leclerc.
“He needs to [learn Italian],” Schiff said. “There’s those little things that happen not necessarily on the record in meetings.
“Charles is a fluent Italian speaker, so even if there might be a scenario in which the two of them are battling each other heavily on track and there starts to be a level of competitiveness, and you catch Charles in a conversation with a group of people speaking in Italian, that might get you slightly paranoid.
“You’d be better off at least starting to understand the language. That will make sure that you don’t ever feel left out of those kinds of conversations.”
Naomi Schiff shares the biggest reason for Lewis Hamilton fans to be hopeful heading into 2025
Eddie Jordan says Ferrari should back out of their Hamilton deal in light of their performances this season. But that would be extremely rash.
While Hamilton has clearly been poor this year, his historic achievements demand respect, and it’s not as if he hasn’t had moments of brilliance. His masterful British GP win was the biggest, but he also won driver of the day with an invigorating charge from 10th to second in Las Vegas just last month.
According to a former Mercedes engineer, Hamilton comes alive when a win is possible. He may have lost motivation behind the wheel of an erratic car that can often progress no further than sixth.
Schiff believes Hamilton will rediscover his ‘spark’ if he has something to ‘fight for’ at Ferrari next season. And that is the main reason for his unparalleled support base to remain optimistic heading into 2025.
