Lewis Hamilton’s shock reveal that he would be joining Ferrari in 2025 earlier this year mimicked what happened when he announced he was leaving McLaren to join Mercedes in 2012.
The consensus over the move was that it was a big mistake, given McLaren’s extensive resources and proven title-winning pedigree that went back decades in F1.
Mercedes had so far failed to capitalise on the momentum from the Brawn GP success story in 2009, and were left picking up the odd race win while Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren took all the glory.
Behind the scenes, there was something else going on. Lewis Hamilton was convinced that the move to Mercedes would benefit his career more than sticking out at McLaren, who at that time started to struggle with their car development.
Having already achieved multiple race wins and title success with the team, the seven-time World Champion recalled what the main driver was behind the move when speaking on the Performance People podcast.
Lewis Hamilton recalls main reason why he left McLaren at the end of 2012
Hamilton achieved four wins and seven podiums in his final year at McLaren, reaching as high as fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.
It was clear that he was hitting a performance ceiling with the team and sought to change his environment for the following year, in a move that would turn him into one of the most successful drivers of all time in F1.
“I wanted a challenge at the time, I love taking risks, and also I never like doing the same thing that everyone expects of me. I just meditated on it and I just loved the challenge. Where I was, I didn’t feel like I was being challenged enough,” said Hamilton.
“Going into a really uncomfortable situation, getting out of your comfort zone is nerve wracking but I love that feeling. Moving into a new team, having to get integrated, then the growth process, and going towards a common goal, its a great feeling when you eventually do that.”
Photo by Hoch Zwei/Corbis via Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton’s McLaren exit similar to Ferrari move
When Hamilton made the move to Mercedes, he partnered with his old karting rival Nico Rosberg and the two battled it out for the Drivers’ World Championship on three occasions between 2014 and 2016.
After getting used to the way of working at Mercedes in 2013, it enabled Hamilton to hit the ground running for the big engine regulation change in 2014 that would kickstart Mercedes’ eight years of dominance.
Much like the reasons why he left McLaren, it seems Hamilton is seeking out a new challenge in the twilight years of his F1 career. He knows that there are limited years of success left in him and Ferrari is the team that can propel him to an eighth world title assult.
Peter Windsor thinks it’s a ‘crazy decision’ to switch to Ferrari for Hamilton, believing that they do not need the seven-time World Champion to be successful and instead should have gone for Adrian Newey.
Following months of speculation, Newey is expected to join Aston Martin despite holding talks with Ferrari which could have seen him paired with one of the most successful team and driver combinations of all time in F1.
