Hamilton shared that he had little time to contemplate an offer from Ferrari’s team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, which he eventually accepted.
“It happened very quickly. I’ve known Fred for a long time and I was excited to prepare for a new year, I didn’t really know what the future held for me, I didn’t know how long I was going to race, but I knew I felt super motivated and excited to continue racing for Mercedes” he said.
“And then the opportunity came and I thought, ‘okay, I need to think about this for a second.’ I didn’t have much time given (by Fred) to think about it and I had to rely on my intuition. And I decided to seize the opportunity” he added.
A Solo Decision
In a remarkable display of independence, Hamilton revealed that he did not consult anyone about his decision. “I didn’t talk to anyone about it” he disclosed. “I didn’t tell my parents until the day it was announced. So no one knew. I really wanted to do it for myself, by myself. Ultimately, I had to discover what was going to be best for me.”
Loyalty Remains
Hamilton, who has only changed teams once in his career when he moved from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, assured that he would always support his former teams. “It was the hardest decision. When I left McLaren, it was a very, very hard decision too because it was like my family. You feel really a part of the family and, obviously, Mercedes has played such an important role in my life and we’ve achieved so much together” he stated.
“The fact is I will always be a fan of Mercedes and we will always live this incredible story together. Even now, all these years after leaving McLaren, I always keep an eye on where they are and I generally always support them. And that will always be the case for me for Mercedes too” he concluded.
