Fresh Lewis Hamilton contract details emerge ahead of mega Ferrari move

Lewis Hamilton makes shock move to Ferrari

Opting to swap Mercedes for Ferrari one year into his two-year deal, Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton had to ask himself “where do I have the biggest chance to win a World title”.

Hamilton broke the internet back in February when he announced he would be joining Ferrari next season having invoked a release clause in his latest Mercedes extension.

Ferrari team boss: Lewis was an important symbol

Breaking the news to his team boss Toto Wolff, Mercedes announced on February 1 that Hamilton would be leaving the team with Ferrari confirming a few hours later that the Briton had signed a multi-year deal.

Said to be worth over $400m when all salary, clauses, incentives and Mission 44 funding are taken into account, it was speculated as to how long many years Hamilton’s multi-year deal actually was. Two years? A year with an option for a second? More?

Vasseur has now answered that question with three years being the duration. After all, the 39-year-old needed a timeframe of sorts as he chase his record-breaking eighth World title.

“Lewis was an important symbol because it sends a positive message to the paddock for the future of the team,” Vasseur told the Financial Times of the seven-time World Champion’s signing.

“He had to make a choice: ‘Where do I have the biggest chance to win the World Championship in 2025, ’26, ’27?’ And he said, ‘Ferrari’.

“For us, he’s also the best way to attract good people. We have good people at Ferrari, but I want to reinforce.

“Most [F1 technicians] are in the UK. If you move from Mercedes in Brackley to Red Bull in Milton Keynes you keep the children at the same school, you keep the same house. From Friday to Monday, you can switch.

“Coming to Italy, it’s a different story. You have to move the family; it’s a change of life. The move of Lewis will help us.”

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But the big question still to be answered is will Hamilton’s arrival trigger Adrian Newey’s?

Announcing in May that he’ll be leaving Red Bull in the first quarter of 2025, Newey was widely tipped to join the Scuderia before Aston Martin came calling.

Although it has been suggested Ferrari have a pre-agreement with the design legend, Newey has made it clear he won’t make any decision before autumn, if not winter.

Vasseur, although not touching on the Newey speculation, believes Ferrari have become more enticing as a team as they’re willing to take risks.

“If you are scared about the capacity of taking risk, you take margins everywhere,” he said, “and, in our business, you can have five cars in one-tenth of a second.

“I spent the last 15 months pushing everybody. Because the more we take risks, the better we will be in the management of risks. I’m really pleased with the step forwards.

“At Ferrari, we don’t have to be scared about the consequence of what we are doing. The team, perhaps in the past, was a bit scared about external forces.

“But it’s my job to manage this; to push them to be a bit more aggressive. And then to take on the mistakes when we are [making] mistakes.”

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