Lewis Hamilton to drive for Ferrari from 2025, driver confirms

Lewis Hamilton will leave his current team Mercedes, and move to Ferrari from 2025, he has confirmed today. The seven time world champion says he's "so proud" of the success he's had at Mercedes, but "the time is right" to move on.

Hamilton, 39, only signed a new contract with Mercedes last summer, but it included a break clause, which he's decided to take. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has sanctioned the move.

Hamilton said: "Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old. It's a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. But the time is right for me to take this step and I'm excited to be taking on a new challenge."

For his part, Wolff said the pairing of Mercedes and Hamilton "has become the most successful the sport has seen. And that's something we can look back on with pride."

Wolff, and the team's technical director, James Allison, called a meeting with staff at 2pm on Thursday following extensive reports that Hamilton was in advanced discussions with Ferrari to make the move.