Revealed: The truth on Lewis Hamilton’s future after early Mercedes exit rumours

Lewis Hamilton will finish the F1 2024 season with Mercedes ahead of his move to Ferrari for F1 2025, with rumours of an early exit “far fetched.”

That is the claim of Sky F1 reporter Craig Slater after Hamilton‘s team radio message at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix raised concerns that he could part company with the team before the final three races.

Lewis Hamilton to complete F1 2024 season with Mercedes ahead of Ferrari switch

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Hamilton announced earlier this year that he will join Ferrari on a multi-year contract from the F1 2025 season, ending his long and successful association with Mercedes.

The British driver has claimed six of his joint-record seven World Championships with the team, as well as becoming the first man to surpass 100 grand prix victories and pole positions, since arriving from McLaren at the beginning of 2013.

Having suffered two winless seasons in 2022/23, Hamilton has returned to the top step of the podium in F1 2024 with emotional victories at Silverstone and Spa.

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However, the second half of the season has been a disappointment with Hamilton finishing no higher than fourth since the summer break in August.

Hamilton’s season slumped to a new low in Brazil, where he failed to reach Q3 for both the sprint and the main race and finished a distant 10th, 27 seconds adrift of team-mate George Russell in fourth.

After the chequered flag, Hamilton referred to his Mercedes W15 as “the worst the car’s ever been” over team radio.

He then appeared to cast doubt over whether he will complete the season with Mercedes, adding: “If this is the last time I get to perform, it’s a shame that it wasn’t great, but grateful for you.”

Hamilton went on to raise further suspicions over his short-term future, claiming that he is “looking forward to Christmas” at this late stage of the season, indicating that he has written off the rest of the F1 2024 season.

However, he then dropped a strong hint that he will remain in place for the remaining three races adding: “If they give me a car that doesn’t bounce off the track in the next few races, then hopefully we can get a better result.”

PlanetF1.com understands that Hamilton’s team radio message is most likely related to his pit crew, with Brazil marking the last time he will work with some members of the team on a race weekend.

Mercedes have operated a rotation system with the pit crew to manage the demands of the record-breaking 24-race F1 2024 season, with Hamilton set to work with his alternative crew for the final triple header spanning Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Wild speculation online has suggested that Hamilton could vacate his Mercedes seat ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix later this month, which would allow his F1 2025 successor Andrea Kimi Antonelli to contest the final three races and gain valuable experience ahead of his debut season.

However, Slater has insisted that Hamilton will complete the season with Mercedes ahead of his move to Ferrari.

PlanetF1.com previously revealed that Hamilton will not be freed from his Mercedes contract to start work with Ferrari at the post-season test session following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with various activities planned to mark the end of his time with the Brackley-based team. A move that both sides agreed on.

In an update on Sky Sports News, Slater said of the rumours of an early exit: “It is far fetched and it isn’t correct. He is going to be finishing the season with Mercedes.

“People are putting two and two together and saying maybe, if Lewis wants to go, this could give Antonelli an early start in F1 to ground him for his first full season. It’s not the case.

“Not entirely clear exactly what he meant on the radio, but I’ve been in touch with a senior figure at the Mercedes team who has told me that they are very clear that, as far as they are concerned, Lewis Hamilton will be completing the season with the team.

“And [it was] pointed out to me that in some other interviews, he talked about the kind of car he hoped Mercedes would give him in these last three races.

“I have it on very good authority that there’s no way he’s going to step aside before the season’s end.

“I don’t think the team want to dignify this kind of thing with an official statement.”

Hamilton, who will turn 40 in January, has grown increasingly reflective over recent months as the end of his Mercedes career has come into view.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com after qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix, on the day Mercedes confirmed teenage sensation Antonelli was his replacement for F1 2025, Hamilton admitted it was “very surreal” to see the seat he had held for so long allocated to a different driver.

He said: “I’ve known [about Antonelli’s promotion] for ages.

“I knew it would be announced this morning. I definitely woke up and it was very, very, very surreal to just have, at least officially confirmed, my seat is going that I held onto for so long.

“So it was quite emotional this morning, but I’m really, really happy for Kimi and for this team – I know Kimi is going to do a great job.”

Asked if he is becoming more emotional as the races tick by towards the end of his Mercedes career, he added: “It’s been there all year. Every single race you turn up.

“I love my team so much. We have been through a hell of a lot together so it will be emotional every single race.

“Because every race we do is the last time at that particular place. Every race we get closer and closer to the last time I’ll be in that Mercedes.

“It’s going to be tough, but my focus is just to do my best job for the team and to finish on a high.”

Hamilton elaborated on his emotions at the end of the Italian GP weekend, with the final European-based race of the F1 2024 season marking the last time he would use his room within Mercedes’ own hospitality unit on a race weekend.

“Leaving Monza, it hit me that it was the last European race this year,” he wrote in a social media post. “The last time I’ll be in my room in engineering that’s been my home for 12 years.

“This is such a unique time in my life, one that continues to bring out a lot of emotions. What I feel the most is pride and gratitude.

“The memories will last forever, as will the memories I make next year.”

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