Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season as he prepares to embark on a new chapter with Ferrari after 11 years with the Silver Arrows
Lewis Hamilton has confessed that his surprising switch from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013 was met with widespread opposition.
The seven-time Formula One champion sent shockwaves through the motorsport sphere by moving over to the Silver Arrows, rebranded from Brawn GP just three years before his arrival.
Staking his claim to fame with McLaren by scooping up his first championship in 2008 – also the team’s most recent Formula One triumph – the racing superstar sought a new challenge five years later and teamed up with long-time friend and on-track adversary Nico Rosberg to usher in a fresh era for Mercedes in F1.
Reminiscing about the choice, which contributed to six additional titles for the Brit, on the YouTube series ‘A Moment In Time’ hosted by ex-Sky Sports host Georgie Ainslie, Hamilton honed in on the defining moment that made him sign for his current team.
In the interview, he admitted: “I was in Thailand at the time between a race after Singapore, and that’s when I made the decision. I was like ‘I want to take a leap of faith and go with it’ and regardless of what people say and pretty much everyone told me to stay but I went with my gut and my intuition and it was the best thing for me.”
Questioned about the significance of this move at the time by Ainslie, Hamilton conceded he was confronted by huge scepticism dubious of his career decision.
“I was with a Championship winning team with McLaren which has such a great history and obviously Mercedes used to own half of McLaren but then they broke away and bought their own team and when they were trying to ramp up, they weren’t having a lot of success,” he said.
The Brit won his first F1 title with McLaren in 2008 (
YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP via Getty Images)
“I think they were the fifth or sixth best team at the time so they were finishing often out of the top 10 and as a world champion, people were like ‘this is the worst decision you can make’ [and] ‘this is not a great team and your career’s over’, so that was all the pundits, media outlets, and fans [that said this]. Then it went well and everyone’s like ‘it’s the best decision you ever made’.”
The 39-year-old is gearing up for an epic switch to Ferrari in 2025, waving goodbye to his 11-year spell with the Silver Arrows after this season concludes. With just eight races left before the Brit joins Charles Leclerc, he came in fifth at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday (September 1), during which he bemoaned his speed at Monza.