Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is unsure if Mercedes will allow him to start work with Ferrari before the F1 2025 season, insisting all his energy is focused on helping his current team “get back to the top.”
Hamilton’s long and successful association with Mercedes will come to an end at the close of this season after the seven-time World Champion announced in February that he will join Ferrari for 2025.
The announcement rocked the F1 world, coming just five months after Hamilton had signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes until the end of 2025.
With his move to Ferrari confirmed so early in the year, Hamilton faces the unusual prospect of having to spend the entire 2024 season at Mercedes in the knowledge that team and driver will soon part ways.
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher the morning after Hamilton’s bombshell, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted 2024 could present some “challenging situations” as the team aim to prevent Hamilton taking intimate secrets to his new employers.
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It is not uncommon for drivers to be released early from their existing contracts ahead of big winter moves, with Hamilton’s former title rival Sebastian Vettel freed from his Red Bull deal to test for Ferrari at Fiorano in November 2014, two months before he officially joined the Scuderia.
Hamilton, whose only previous career switch came when he swapped McLaren for Mercedes at the beginning of 2013, does not know if he will be allowed to do the same.
According to German publication Motorsport-Total.com, he said: “I think it will start with a conversation with Toto because I don’t know how to navigate that.
“I don’t think I was at Mercedes until December [2012], when the first seat fitting was made after the season. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it this time.”
Hamilton was caught snapping at a reporter for asking about his impending switch to Ferrari after a challenging Japanese Grand Prix, where he slumped to a distant ninth on race day to continue his worst-ever start to an F1 season.
The 39-year-old is adamant that he wants to end on a high with Mercedes in 2024, claiming talk about life at Ferrari could prove a distraction.
He explained: “Right now, I want to finish on a high. All my energy is going into that.
“Of course I’m looking forward to the future, but we’re currently in a difficult situation – and that’s my challenge.
“That’s where all my energy is going: to find out how we can get back to the top.
“How can I work with the boys? Can I give better debriefs? Can I give better direction?
“I’m a competitive guy first and foremost, so I want to win. Thinking about next year doesn’t help me with that.”
