Last Updated on December 14 2025, 9:15 am

A few years ago, it was impossible to imagine, but today Lewis Hamilton drives a Ferrari. The Briton made the decision to leave Mercedes to join the Scuderia. It was a remarkable move that generated considerable excitement. Indeed, the Italian squad shared an image on social networks revealing Lewis Hamilton’s arrival, which spread rapidly across the globe. It appears some cause for regret may have been given to Toto Wolff by this.

Ferrari understood immediately that Hamilton’s arrival was not just a sporting event, but a cultural moment. The Scuderia therefore chose to announce the seven-time World Champion in a way that matched the scale of the signing. What followed was a carefully staged image that quickly took on a life of its own. These photos did not escape anyone’s attention, not even Toto Wolff, who had just seen the seven-time World Champion leave his Mercedes team.

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The End of Formula One’s Most Successful Partnership

Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes closed the most successful driver-team partnership in Formula One history.

Across twelve seasons, Hamilton and Mercedes dominated the sport, winning seven World Championships and setting records that may never be matched. Their collaboration defined an era, built on trust, technical excellence, and sustained success.

However, by the time Hamilton chose to move on, the partnership had clearly run its course. The split was not abrupt, but the result of several seasons marked by disappointment, technical frustration, and a gradual erosion of alignment.

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Abu Dhabi 2021: The Moment Everything Changed

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proved to be a decisive turning point. A controversial sequence of events denied Hamilton a record eighth world title, and while Mercedes publicly moved on, the impact lingered. From that race onward, Hamilton appeared less at ease, and the sense of invincibility surrounding both driver and team faded.

Although Hamilton remained competitive, the emotional and sporting fallout coincided with a period of increasing instability at Mercedes.

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Regulation Changes and a Difficult 2022

The introduction of ground-effect regulations in 2022 exposed Mercedes’ weaknesses. The radical zero-pod W13 failed to meet expectations, and the team struggled to understand its own car. For the first time in his career, Hamilton finished a season without a race win.

Worse still, he was outscored by his new teammate, George Russell, who claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory in Brazil and won the internal points battle. It was a clear shift in the team dynamic, and an uncomfortable milestone in Hamilton’s career.

 

Growing Frustration and Public Criticism

Hamilton became increasingly vocal about Mercedes’ problems. After being lapped at Imola, he admitted bluntly, “We got it wrong.”

Similar comments followed throughout the season, as he described experimental setups and persistent performance issues.

While Hamilton insisted he was taking on extreme setups to help development, the broader picture was clear: Mercedes were no longer fighting for championships, but for understanding.

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Accountability and Internal Changes

The struggles continued into 2023. Although Hamilton beat Russell on points that season, he again failed to win a race and openly criticised the team for ignoring his feedback. When Mercedes finally abandoned the zero-pod concept, Hamilton publicly stated, “I was right,” calling for accountability.

Soon after, technical director Mike Elliott was reassigned, and James Allison returned to a leadership role, signalling a shift in direction. Behind the scenes, contract talks dragged on, with Hamilton seeking long-term security beyond just driving.

 

A Quiet Decision to Move On

Mercedes eventually announced a vague “multi-year” deal, which, in reality, secured Hamilton for only one more season. Despite his insistence that it would not be his final contract, Hamilton had already committed to Ferrari for 2025, informing Toto Wolff shortly before the 2024 season began.

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The Image That Went Around the World

To mark Hamilton’s first official day as a Ferrari driver, the team released a series of photographs that were shared across social media platforms worldwide. The most striking image showed Hamilton, dressed in a tailored suit, standing confidently in front of Enzo Ferrari’s historic home in Maranello.

The symbolism was unmistakable: the sport’s most successful driver stepping into the spiritual heart of its most iconic team.

The photograph went viral within minutes, spreading far beyond Formula 1 circles. For Ferrari fans, it represented a dream pairing finally becoming reality. For neutral observers, it was a reminder of Ferrari’s enduring power to create moments that transcend racing. And for some at Mercedes, the image carried a more complicated emotional weight.

Yet, Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari was met with huge fanfare, but early results were discouraging. Performance issues and disqualifications quickly followed, and Hamilton began pushing for structural changes within the team. This led to public tension, including a rebuke from Ferrari President John Elkann after a difficult race weekend.

Hamilton has since admitted he is unsure whether Ferrari will act on his recommendations. As Toto Wolff later confirmed, the relationship at Mercedes had become strained in its final months, one cannot help but feel that perhaps we’re seeing a pattern repeat at Ferrari.

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Toto Wolff’s Reaction

Among those who noticed the photograph immediately was Toto Wolff. The Mercedes team principal had overseen Hamilton’s most successful years, and played a central role in building the partnership that dominated Formula 1 for much of the hybrid era.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Wolff admitted that the image provoked a very specific reaction.

“There was that famous photo in front of Enzo Ferrari’s house, in a suit, like in The Godfather,” Wolff said. “For years, I had tried to convince him to wear a suit, but he always refused and put on his own clothes. And then, on his first day with a new friend, he wore a suit!”

Wolff added that the photograph was likely one of the most widely shared images in the sport’s recent history. While his comments were light-hearted, they underlined how symbolic the moment felt for someone who had worked so closely with Hamilton for so long. Seeing his former driver embrace Ferrari’s tradition so visibly was a powerful reminder that an era had truly ended.

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Why the Split Made Sense

Despite the emotional undertones, Wolff has been clear that Hamilton’s departure was not a shock in purely sporting terms. After twelve seasons together, both sides were facing the reality that change was inevitable. Wolff explained that he personally embraced transition and saw it as an opportunity rather than a setback.

“I like change in general; I like the challenge and the opportunities it offers,” he said. “When Lewis announced his departure, I immediately asked myself, ‘What are we going to do now? Let’s make the most of it!”

Wolff also acknowledged that, after so many years working closely together, a natural sense of fatigue can develop on both sides. Mercedes, meanwhile, had already been preparing for the future, with young talent such as Andrea Kimi Antonelli waiting in the wings.

As for Hamilton, the jury is out whether Ferrari embraces the changes Hamilton believes are necessary may determine not only his success there, but whether 2026 becomes the defining—or final—chapter of his Formula One career.

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NEXT ARTICLE – Hamilton quits his battle to revolutionise Ferrari F1 team

For all the media briefing about how passionate Lewis Hamilton is over doing a Michael Schumacher and making Ferrari great again (MFGA) he farewell in Abu Dhabi was a disconsolate throwing in of the towel.

Lewis has repeatedly claimed this year he has been sending in documents for the perusal of the Scuderia senior management in an effort to wake the sleeping giant in Maranello. He spoke of “structural re-organisation” in the summer when asked about the contents of his ‘documents’ together with specific deficiencies in the SF-25

The ‘Hamilton files’ have not gone down well in certain corners of Ferrari’s HQ as engineers resent being told ‘this is the way we did it at Mercedes.’ Yet this is none of Lewis’ fault, its all part of Ferrari arrogance based on a once glorious past.

 

Hamilton notes Alonso & Vettel failures

On media day before the F1 seasons finale, Lewis again spoke of him taking a ‘hands on approach’ in terms of Ferrari reform and how he refused to accept his tenure with the Scuderia will go the same disappointing ways as Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

“It is a huge organisation and there’s a lot of moving parts and not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that need to be. That’s ultimately why the team’s not had the success that I think it deserves.

“So I feel that it’s my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team, particularly the guys that are at the top making the decisions. If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers.

“You’ve had Fernando, you’ve had Sebastian. All world champions. However, they didn’t win a World Champion[ship] with Ferrari. And I refuse for that to be the case with me, so I’m going the extra mile,” claimed the seven times champion…READ MORE ON THIS STORY