Lewis Hamilton reveals why staying at Mercedes would have been a risk amid Ferrari debut. Lewis Hamilton explains why it would have been a ‘risk’ to stay at Mercedes after first Ferrari outing.

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Lewis Hamilton has reflected on his Mercedes exit after making his first appearance as a Ferrari driver. The seven-time world champion reported to Maranello this week to formally begin work.

That came almost a year after the Maranello team announced the bombshell signing of Lewis Hamilton. He opted out of the second year of his Mercedes contract.

The August 2023 extension seemed like a fresh commitment from both parties. But Hamilton decided it was time to bring the record-shattering partnership to an end.

He won six titles at Brackley, surpassing Michael Schumacher’s record of five at Ferrari. They were largely untouchable between 2014 and 2020, with only teammate Nico Rosberg able to interrupt Lewis Hamilton’s streak.

However, Mercedes lost ground at the start of F1’s ground-effect era in 2022 and they’ve never really recovered it. While there have been occasional highlights, above all Hamilton’s emotional win at the British GP, it’s been a mostly painful period for the Silver Arrows.

The British driver will be replaced by one of the youngest F1 drivers in Kimi Antonelli. Toto Wolff has taken an eye-catching gamble on the Mercedes academy graduate, who was born just a year before Hamilton’s debut.

Lewis Hamilton feared ‘complacent’ scenario if he stayed at Mercedes any longer

Speaking to LinkedIn newsletter Get Hired, Hamilton reflected on his ‘leap of faith’. He admits there’s an inherent risk in changing teams.

But he also believes that staying at Mercedes could have backfired. A driver can grow ‘complacent’ when they become too ‘comfortable’ in their surroundings

George Russell said the now Ferrari man needed a fresh start and it seems the 40-year-old agrees. He views the new challenge as invigorating.

It was a ‘gut feeling’ that led him to join Ferrari, but he has ‘total’ confidence. His move to Mercedes was widely questioned following the 2012 announcement, but proved to be a masterstroke.

He explained that every new opportunity is essentially a leap of faith, as no one can predict the future, and changing jobs—or in his case, teams—inevitably involves some level of risk. However, he believed the greater risk lay in staying somewhere comfortable and potentially becoming complacent. Trusting his instincts, he felt that joining Ferrari was the right decision, offering the challenge he needed at this stage of his career. He expressed excitement about working with the incredible people on the team and said he had full confidence that they would achieve great success together.

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Anthony Hamilton shares the change he’s seen in his son before Ferrari move

Hamilton has dreamed of Ferrari for at least 20 years, which may also have played a role in his decision. Given his age, this was likely his last opportunity to join the Scuderia.

Ferrari had finished behind Mercedes in 2023, only weeks before the British driver made his decision. But Fred Vasseur’s squad came within 14 points of winning the title last year, while Wolff’s team were nearly 200 off the pace.