The link-up between the most successful driver and most successful team in F1 history would go down as one of the biggest driver transfer shocks the sport has known.

It would see Hamilton race alongside Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in 2025, after the Monegasque driver signed a new long-term contract last week, leaving Carlos Sainz, a two-time race winner for Ferrari, without a seat.

The move would also kickstart the F1 driver market’s ‘silly season’ almost a month before the opening race in Bahrain, creating an opportunity for a coveted seat at Mercedes alongside George Russell.

Hamilton, 39, signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes last August. But it would appear the inclusion of an exit clause opened the door for talks with Ferrari about 2025.

Ferrari declined to comment when approached by The Athletic, noting its policy of not commenting on rumours. Mercedes also offered no comment.

Why Hamilton would join FerrariHamilton has been linked to a Ferrari move throughout his F1 career. In May last year, when reports emerged suggesting he’d been in talks over a switch for 2024, Hamilton denied there had been any contact, while Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur claimed they “didn’t have discussions”.

Vasseur worked with Hamilton during his junior racing career and said in December they were “always in contact”, before joking: “If he signed a contract with me each time we spoke in the past, it would have cost me a fortune!”

Hamilton is also known to be close to John Elkann, Ferrari’s president, after meeting many years ago at a Google event in Italy. “That’s when our friendship started, and we’ve always remained in touch,” Hamilton said in November.

Signing Hamilton is a prospect that Elkann is thought to have long coveted, securing the sport’s biggest name for his team and serving as major statement for Ferrari as it seeks to end a championship drought stretching back to 2008.

For Hamilton, it would be a major move in his bid to win an eighth drivers’ championship after controversially missing out on a record-breaking title in 2021 to Max Verstappen.

The move would be a big leap of faith from Hamilton in Ferrari, which finished three points behind Mercedes in last year’s championship, to produce a car capable of delivering wins and championships before calling time on his F1 career.

Hamilton won six of his seven world championships since joining Mercedes in 2013, helping build one of the most dominant teams in F1 history that claimed eight consecutive constructors’ titles between 2014 and 2021.

But Mercedes experienced a downturn in fortunes in the past two seasons, struggling to match the form of the dominant Red Bull team. It has left Hamilton without a race win since December 2021, ending his record of scoring at least one victory per season dating back to 2007.

Where would this leave Mercedes?Hamilton’s departure would come as a big blow to Mercedes following such a long relationship that stretches right through his F1 career. Hamilton’s first F1 title, won with McLaren in 2008, came when it was Mercedes’ main team.

Hamilton said upon signing his new Mercedes contract in August that he had “unfinished business” with the team and there was “no place I would rather be.”

Mercedes has established a strong bond with Hamilton through his F1 career, working together on many off-track charitable initiatives such as Mission 44, designed to improve diversity and representation within motorsport.

But his departure would leave Mercedes contemplating potential replacements after initially planning to partner Hamilton and Russell until at least the end of the 2025 season.

The majority of the F1 grid is out of contract for next year. Only Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, and the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have their futures sewn up, leaving plenty of candidates for Hamilton’s seat.