Hamilton OFFICIALLY moves teams as new F1 era begins

Lewis Hamilton has officially become a Ferrari driver, as the clock ticked past midnight to usher in the new year.

The seven-time world champion has raced his last for Mercedes, finishing up 12 years with the Silver Arrows at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Hamilton set to ditch key partner

Hamilton enjoyed a series of farewell tributes from the team where he won six of his world titles, including outings in his old Mercedes cars and emotional messages from team principal Toto Wolff.

However, his final few seasons with the team often left the champion frustrated, where he was unable to find pace in the car and only claimed two race wins in the past three years.

Hamilton Ferrari switch confirmed

The 39-year-old shocked the F1 paddock when he announced his move to Ferrari at the beginning of last year, a switch that has since become highly anticipated.

Now, the wait is finally over with Hamilton’s move to Ferrari officially confirmed by F1 in a statement released on Instagram for New Years.

F1 posted a picture of Hamilton to their social media bathed in a red light, with the simple statement of the date ‘0:00 UTC, January 1, 2025’ and the phrase ‘Lewis Hamilton is a Scuderia Ferrari driver’.

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Hamilton will debut in his first race with the Scuderia at the Australian Grand Prix in March, but fans will certainly glimpse the champion in red before then.

Ferrari have confirmed that February 19th will be the debut date for their 2025 challenger, but team principal Fred Vasseur has teased an earlier appearance for Hamilton.

According to the Frenchman, we could see Hamilton test drive the Ferrari in January, weather permitting, around their private track Fiorano.

READ MORE: Verstappen confirms SHOCK talks over Mercedes move

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