LEWIS HAS EARNED A SHOT AT IMMORTALITY

Ferrari switch is perfect finale to glittering career

- Simon Cass

LEWIS HAMILTON'S decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes was a massive gamble - but choosing to quit the Silver Arrows for Ferrari falls into the 'no-brainer' category.

It is easy to forget how seismic a shock it was when Hamilton opted to turn his back on McLaren, the team he joined as a 13-year-old and with whom he won his first world championship in 2008.

A further six drivers' titles and 82 wins for Mercedes means the astonishment that greeted Hamilton's announcement has long since faded.

Hamilton went all in, put the best years of his career on the line. His reward for putting his trust in former Mercedes power brokers Ross Brawn and the late Niki Lauda paid off in a way even he could not have envisaged.

When the news emerged yesterday that the biggest transfer story on deadline day would not come from football, rather Formula One, the shockwaves were felt around the world once more.