ARE HAMILTON'S DAYS AT FI'S SUMMIT NUMBERED?

When the news broke in February 2024 that Lewis Hamilton was to join Charles Leclerc at Ferrari from 2025, it was the story of the century.

- David Tremayne

Lewis Hamilton does not regret his decision to move to Ferrari in 2025, stressing that 'It takes time to build and grow within an organisation'. PHOTO: EPA

(EPA)

He was Formula One's G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) and Mercedes had been his home since 2013, and had helped him to six of his seven world championships. The very idea of leaving was preposterous.

But Ferrari were in the doldrums, having last won a drivers' championship in 2007 and the constructors title in 2008. And company executive chairman John Elkann had lured him with a lucrative three-year deal - Forbes in December said Hamilton earned US$70.5 million (S$91.4 million) in 2025, the second-highest in the paddock after Max Verstappen (US$76 million).

“It’s been a crazy few days,” Hamilton admitted then. “I still remember the feeling of taking a leap of faith when I joined Mercedes in 2013. Some people didn’t understand it but I was right, and it’s the feeling I have again now. It’s a dream for anyone, a goal to be achieved.”

Hamilton broke the news over a coffee at Mercedes boss Toto Wolff's house in Oxford. “Everyone dreams of being in a red car,” the phlegmatic Austrian admitted.

But none of the parties could have foreseen what a nightmare that dream would turn into.

Hamilton's arrival was greeted with delirium by the tifosi, who had already taken him to their hearts. His first race, in Australia, did not yield the victory that either Nigel Mansell or Fernando Alonso had enjoyed (in 1989 and 2010 respectively) as newbies, but he was close to teammate Leclerc as he began to learn about life chez Ferrari.