Jonathan FletcherLewis Hamilton’s switch from Mercedes to Ferrari for the 2024 season surprises many. Despite a recent two-year contract, speculation about his reasons, including Mercedes’ performance issues, fuels widespread curiosity.
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season to join Ferrari raises questions, especially since he signed a two-year contract last August and the season hasn’t even started…
At this point, without any explanations from him, there can only be speculation. The first and most obvious speculation is that he may not have seen the promised progress for the W15, either in the simulator or from the engineers.
Even though Hamilton does not know what other teams are doing, he has a good benchmark from the W13 and W14, and therefore what he should expect in terms of performance from the W15 simulator.
What is known is that he only informed Toto Wolff, his manager, the day before, and that Wolff was taken by surprise by the British driver’s decision, who utilized his exit clause to not fulfill the second year of the contract planned for 2025.
But Lewis Hamilton‘s departure was particularly influenced by the departure of engineer Loic Serra… to Ferrari. The arrival of Serra, who was in charge of vehicle performance at Mercedes, at Ferrari next year played a definite role.
Serra’s Departure Shakes Mercedes
Serra is indeed one of the engineers who opposed keeping the zero sidepod concept and the doctrine followed by Mike Elliott. The origin of Mercedes’ difficulties in this regulatory era dates back to the choice to build thin sidepods, then to persevere with this concept last season.
Serra was against this philosophy and chose to leave in the middle of last year.
Even though James Allison has since taken over the technical direction and changed course, which Lewis Hamilton had applauded, the latter must estimate that it is probably too late to be competitive in 2024 and therefore in 2025 since in the 2025 season, all teams will be focused on the new F1s of 2026.
Quite unanimously, Lewis Hamilton’s choice has been described as smart: if the W15 is competitive, he can aim for victories and perhaps the title this year. This would then pave the way for one last challenge in F1, Ferrari. If it’s not competitive, Hamilton won’t lock himself into just one more year of struggle instead of two.
Finally, it’s likely that Fred Vasseur must have informed the British driver about the Scuderia’s advancements in terms of competitiveness…
Why Is Hamilton Leaving Mercedes for Ferrari?. Why Is Hamilton Leaving Mercedes for Ferrari?
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