Mercedes in Lewis Hamilton commitment reveal as Ferrari switch explained

As well as wanting a fresh F1 career chapter with Ferrari, Mercedes also were not willing to “commit” to Lewis Hamilton for as long as he wanted to.

That is the reveal from Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin, who can therefore “totally understand” why Hamilton has taken this major leap of faith by signing with Ferrari from F1 2025.

Mercedes could not match Lewis Hamilton commitment wish

Hamilton decided ahead of the 2024 campaign that it would be his last with Mercedes – the team he has raced for since 2013 – as he readies to join Ferrari and realise a childhood dream, having signed a multi-year deal.

And for Mercedes, Hamilton’s timeframe to continue racing in F1 was an ultimately crucial concern.

“It was a brave and bold decision, but you can totally understand why he’s done it,” said Shovlin, as quoted by the BBC.

“He wanted to drive for more years than we were prepared to commit to. He wanted to have another chapter in his career that was about Ferrari, and it’s a great challenge for him.

“As well as driving, he is still making an impact on the sport and diversity within the sport. He has more he wants to do there, and it’s far easier for him to do that from the driving seat. He has such a prominent voice globally.

“That is a big part of his objectives, as well as winning races and hopefully winning the eighth championship.”

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And for Hamilton, he takes great pride in the work done with Mercedes to improve diversity and representation in Formula 1, alongside the record-breaking success achieved together, Hamilton having claimed six of his seven Drivers’ titles with Mercedes, as part of a streak of eight straight Constructors’ titles for the team between 2014-21.

Reflecting on his Mercedes career with CNN, Hamilton said: “I mean, we’ve fought year on year on year. We’ve gone through so many highs and lows together, but the most successful partnership in history, which is something, when we started out, we didn’t know that was necessarily going to be the case.

“But, just the greatest memories and we created history together, so it’s something I’m really, really proud of.

“I feel like the success on the track, I think, is, not that it’s just like any other big success story within the sport, because there’s been many of them, many people winning multiple World Championships.

“I’d like to think that I’ve challenged the team in ways that they’ve perhaps never been challenged before. In terms of how we engage in the background, how we engage with our partners, and how through conversation and through collaboration, really opened the mind up to open up the doors for more people from different backgrounds.

“And with Formula 1 now announcing the step to improve diversity, and I think that’s with all the teams with the FIA, that’s something I’m really, really proud to be a part of.

“And I hope in years to come, we’ll see a sport more and more representative of the outside world, and more and more young kids, no matter where you’re from, no matter what you look like, no matter your gender, dreaming of one day working on a spacecraft or being an engineer within racing.”

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