Ferrari President claims Lewis Hamilton not joining Maranello to ‘enjoy retirement’

John Elkann has explained the underlying reason behind Lewis Hamilton's shocking switch to Ferrari from the 2025 season.

Ferrari President claims Lewis Hamilton not joining Maranello to ‘enjoy retirement’

Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO), Ferrari logo (via Ferrari)

Lewis Hamilton has worked closely with Mercedes since 2013 and hasn’t looked back. Everyone believed that the 39-year-old would retire from the sport with Mercedes’ legacy. However, the Briton secured a shocking move to Ferrari from the 2025 season onwards. The Italian outfit’s president John Elkann noted that this move wasn’t to ‘enjoy retirement’ as a Ferrari driver.

Mercedes’ extreme struggles in the ground-effect era have been believed to be one of the major reasons for the move. Lewis Hamilton hasn’t yet revealed the exact reason behind the shocking switch. However, the Briton is surely desperate to score his eighth world championship after controversially losing the 2021 WDC.

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Speaking upon the entire matter, John Elkann claimed that ‘some things’ happened quickly especially when Ferrari found Hamilton. Additionally, Elkann pointed out that the Briton wanted to amass his eighth title while Maranello wanted to return to their winning ways. Hence, the 39-year-old wasn’t joining Scuderia to ‘enjoy retirement’ and exit the sport.

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Some things happen very quickly. That's when he and Ferrari found each other. He wants to win his eighth title, Ferrari wants to win and with Lewis he is stronger. He doesn't come to Ferrari to enjoy retirement and it's important to have motivated people around him who want to win.
John Elkann said in an interview with corrieredellosport.it
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John Elkann claims ‘consistency counts’ over Ferrari’s strict battle with top teams

Ferrari’s 2024 season has been tumultuous as the team has started to decline in performance mid-way through the season. Elkann addressed these issues and claimed that competition was ‘real’ between the top four teams. Hence, it was important to extract the maximum potential from the team. Drivers with a lot of experience such as Hamilton and Fernando Alonso would be exceptional choices for this situation.

In Formula 1, the competition is now real, with four very close teams: Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes. It is important to always go to the maximum of your potential: those who have more experience have more consistency, as Hamilton and Alonso himself demonstrate. And consistency counts.
John Elkann added
Fred Vasseur and Lewis Hamilton
Fred Vasseur and Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

Maranello’s current focus lies on improving SF-24s disappointing pace over the summer break. The team would need to provide Hamilton with a great setup from the get-go. Additionally, Hamilton’s pair with Charles Leclerc would help the two form one of the most formidable pairs on the grid.

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