Will Lewis Hamilton Regret His Move to Ferrari?

Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari hit the headlines before the F1 2024 season even began. It's one of the biggest driver moves the sport has seen as he leaves the team that helped him to six world championships. Even though we've always heard rumours about Hamilton leaving Mercedes for a different team or retiring, nothing has ever come of it. But when the news was finally confirmed in a statement from Ferrari, there wasn't a single F1 account or fan that wasn't talking about. Everyone's been keeping an eye on Hamilton, Mercedes and Ferrari this season. Picking apart the smallest interactions to figure out why the move was made and how everyone is really feeling about it. Lately, though more of the talk has turned to whether or not Lewis Hamilton is going to regret signing his Ferrari contract.

At the start of the season, Mercedes looked like they'd made no progress over winter break. If anything, it looked like they'd gone backwards. As the season has continues though, they've managed to figure out how to unlock pace in their car. They still aren't the strongest team on the grid. There are some circuits where they struggle a little more but there's no denying the massive improvement the team has made. With three wins by the time we got to summer break, we had a clear sign that Mercedes has made steps in the right direction.

Ferrari, on the other hand, have struggled as the season's gone on. They started fairly strong and looked like they could battle with Red Bull at the front. Even if it wasn't consistently. But when their Spanish Grand Prix upgrades came in, things started to unravel for them. The car wasn't easy to handle anymore, getting into Q3 wasn't a certainty and we weren't seeing them on the podium, let alone battling for wins.

So, between the improvement Mercedes has shown and the decline in performance from Ferrari, the conversation started up: Is Lewis Hamilton beginning to regret the decision to move to Ferrari? Surely, the safer bet would have been to stay with Mercedes. Even his current teammate, George Russell, thinks that Hamilton wouldn't have decided to leave if he had known the progress Mercedes would have made.

If you were to ask me though, I don't think Hamilton regrets the decision at all. I don't think the team's performance over the last few years was the main reason behind the decision. Mercedes had signed Hamilton to a 1+1 year contract after his expired at the end of 2023. It wasn't the usual long-term contract that we've come to expect from the driver-team duo but it would give both Mercedes and Hamilton the freedom to part ways after a year if they wanted to. In the team's case, it looked like a way for them to sign Kimi Antonelli early if they thought he was ready.

The Mercedes junior driver had been pulled up the ranks pretty quickly, skipping F3 to head straight to F2. There's been so much said about Toto Wolff not wanting to make the same mistake he made with Max Verstappen. He didn't want to let another young star slip through his fingers. So, it sounded like Wolff needed to have that flexibility in Hamilton's contract. It's been clear this season that the Mercedes Team Principal is looking to future-proof his team.

Realistically, I think Hamilton knew that the likelihood of Mercedes re-signing him after his contract was up was slim. Triggering his exit clause at the end of 2024 makes perfect sense to me. With most drivers out of contract at the end of this year, this was his best chance of finding a seat that he wanted, instead of waiting another year where it would have been a lot more difficult and complicated.

Hamilton has repeatedly said that he won't leave the sport until he feels ready to. He won't let anyone else make that decision for him. And it's clear to see that he's not done with F1 just yet. He still has more to give and still has the motivation to keep going. So securing his future when there was uncertainty with his current team was going to be important to him. There's no denying though that he's in the twilight of his career. Whilst both he and Fernando Alonso are showing that age is not holding them back in this sport, I think we all know that we only have a small handful of years to see these two titans on track. And for all of Hamilton's podiums, poles and championships, there is one thing that has evaded him: racing in the red overalls of the Scuderia.

In the end, the stars aligned for Hamilton. Ferrari was going to have a driver out of contract at the end of 2024. Frederic Vassuer is at the helm of the Scuderia, a man that Hamilton has known and trusted since before he became an F1 great. And most drivers will tell you that to drive in that iconic red car isn't an opportunity most people would give up.

Don't get me wrong, Hamilton is still hungry for wins and championships and whilst Ferrari still has work to do on that front, it isn't out of the realms of possibility. But driving for Ferrari might also give Hamilton a change of scenery. A new challenge that he might have wanted. The opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream. And maybe a chance to prove to his doubters that he can still succeed with a completely different team. Time will tell though whether Lewis Hamilton will regret his move to Ferrari.