Lewis Hamilton, as reported by Sky Sports, will be severing ties with Mercedes to team up with Ferrari in 2025. This comes at the heels of the devastating loss that the Ferrari film incurred, starring Adam Driver, which hit theatres in 2023.
Hamilton’s move to Ferarri is being considered especially shocking, given that the athlete has signed a two-year contract with Mercedes, which was due to expire at the end of 2025. However, it seems that Hamilton will be quitting Mercedes after just one more season, in 2024.
Lewis Hamilton’s salary was a whopping $55 million at Mercedes
The Ferarri movie, released in 2023, starring Adam Driver, and directed by Michael Mann, was made with a budget of $95 million according to Variety. Neon, the company producing the film, spent $7 million to market the film in the United States, putting the amount spent on the film to be at least $102 million. Against this budget, which is bound to be more, the film was able to secure a mere $36.9 million, according to The Numbers, squarely marking the film as a loss.
However, the amount that the film lost at the box office was nowhere close to what Mercedes shelled out for Lewis Hamilton. Reportedly, Hamilton was earning a salary of $55 million, as reported by Forbes
Given that the F1 athlete has decided to leave the company despite a two-year contract, means that that it can at least be understood that Ferarri must have shelled out more than the amount it made on the film to sign Hamilton, which talks about what the athlete is worth to major F1 franchises.
Lewis Hamilton will likely replace Carlos Sainz
While there are no official reports out yet from Mercedes or Ferarri, as both franchises have refused to comment on the shocking move, most trades are reporting that Carlos Sainz Jr. will find himself replaced with Lewis Hamilton. Sky Sports News has reported that the replacement is to happen with Lewis Hamilton serving as a teammate for Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton currently sits at 103 wins, which is a record, while not having won a season since 2021. Over his 7 years will Mercedes, Hamilton has managed to win 6 titles, losing the 2021 championship to Max Verstappen from Red Bull. Saiz being replaced by Hamilton is more likely, given that Leclerc has just signed a deal with Ferrari, renewing his contract with the racing giant.
