Q&A: Has Lewis Hamilton abandoned resurgent Mercedes too soon?
Mercedes have won three of the last four races.
Lewis Hamilton heads into Formula One’s summer break with two victories from his last three appearances following George Russell’s disqualification at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s form and Mercedes’ resurgence will raise questions about the seven-time world champion’s decision to leave the Silver Arrows for Ferrari next season.
Here, the PA news agency asks if Hamilton has written off Mercedes too early?
Why is Hamilton joining Ferrari in 2025?
Hamilton finished ninth at last season’s concluding race in Abu Dhabi to extend his losing streak into two seasons. It also marked Mercedes’ first winless campaign in 12 years. The Silver Arrows ended the season an eye-watering 413 points behind Red Bull, with Toto Wolff admitting his team would need to scale Mount Everest to topple Max Verstappen. Hamilton had only recently signed an extension to remain with the Silver Arrows but during the winter break he took the shock decision to end his association with the team which carried him to six of his seven record-equalling world championships and join Ferrari in 2025 on a multi-year deal. Hamilton, who will be 40 when he makes his debut for the Scuderia at the Australian Grand Prix in March, described the blockbuster transfer as the realisation of a childhood dream.
So, has he made the right decision?
Hamilton will have felt his move to Ferrari was vindicated following his worst ever start to a season. He failed to finish inside the top five at any of the opening eight rounds with Mercedes desperately out of sorts and Wolff even admitting it was right to question if he was the right person to remain in charge of the grid’s once dominant team. With Hamilton failing to even sniff a podium, Ferrari claimed victories in Australia and Monaco through Carlos Sainz – the driver Hamilton is replacing next season – and Charles Leclerc respectively. The Italians appeared the team best positioned to end Verstappen’s dominance of the sport.
But what’s happened since?
A major upgrade introduced at the Canadian Grand Prix has dramatically reversed Mercedes’ fortunes. George Russell took the team’s first podium of 2024 in Montreal, one place ahead of Hamilton. Hamilton then finished third at the next round in Spain before ending his two-and-a-half-year winless streak at the British Grand Prix. He followed that up with another podium in Hungary a week ago and triumphed again on Sunday. Remarkably, Hamilton has scored the same number of points as Verstappen (108) since Canada. No other driver on the grid has a better points tally. Ferrari’s leading scorer during the same period is Sainz with just 54 points. Mercedes (170 points) have also heavily outscored Red Bull (132) and Ferrari (93) with only McLaren (182) landing more points in the last six races.
What has Hamilton said?
Hamilton was asked last month in Spain if he regretted his Ferrari move. “No, not at all,” he replied. Hamilton was asked a similar question in the wake of his Silverstone triumph. Again he rebuffed the suggestion. “I am not leaving on a low but leaving on a high, which has been our goal,” he said. But it will only be natural for Hamilton to have doubts over whether his move is the right one. During the winter he believed Ferrari was the right destination for him to land the record eighth world title he, and many others, believe he was wrongly denied in 2021. But as the regulations have converged, Ferrari, who have not delivered a drivers’ champion since 2007, are behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes in the pecking order.
Has Hamilton written off Mercedes too early?
Mercedes have won three of the last four races and certainly head into the summer break as the form team. It is a stunning turnaround for a team which looked down and out just a couple of months ago. And, as it stands, they, along with McLaren, look the team most likely to challenge Verstappen and Red Bull. But Hamilton has form when it comes to making the right move – his transfer from McLaren to Mercedes raised eyebrows but the Silver Arrows dominated a regulation change in 2014 to transform Hamilton into the most decorated driver in F1 history. Although the rules will remain stable next season, Hamilton will be pinning his hopes on Ferrari mastering the next overhaul of regulations in 2026 to deliver him the eighth title he so desperately craves.
