Was it the fame? The money? The 8th world championship title? Or is it just the legacy that Lewis Hamilton was chasing while signing a deal with Ferrari? Let’s just say it’s more complicated than that. While the most common belief is that Hamilton left Mercedes to get into a better car, his recent words have left the F1 world confused.

It’s no doubt that Lewis Hamilton wants to break the record for the most world championships in the world. He’s so close to doing it and it would be a shame to stop now with just one last World Championship to immortalize him as the first driver to break the record. Lewis Hamilton said in the press conference before the Bahrain GP weekend, “I am just working on rebuilding my team and trying to make sure that it is diverse. Then January, everything turned upside down when the option came.”

While justifying his move, he mentioned, “I think I made the right decision for me, and I think this team will win another championship, and I will be proud because I know I had some involvement.“ Although Lewis Hamilton will be leaving Mercedes after this season, it’s clear that the driver holds the team in high regard. After spending over a decade with the team, Hamilton just wants to see the team achieve more despite him not being with them.

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That being said, he also mentioned that Mercedes can win a championship without him. And that brings in the question, who will replace Lewis Hamilton?

Lewis Hamiton’s move has triggered a driver reshuffle

After the 2024 season, there will be 12 drivers excluding Lewis Hamilton who will be getting off the current contract. This means, there will be a really interesting silly season next year. Many teams will be changing their driver lineup with the chances of the grid being completely reset. While dominating teams will try to retain their drivers, others will be looking for an upgrade. And when it comes to being an upgrade to Lewis Hamilton, there isn’t anyone on the board.

But while there is no other 7-time world champion to replace Hamilton, Alonso will be a strong pick for the team. That aside, having a driver-for-driver swap with Ferrari also sounds like a good idea. Among the drivers on the grid, many drivers are yet to prove themselves to be world champion-worthy. But with drivers like Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, and Pierre Gasly available, there is a chance that Mercedes and Toto Wolff will get back their mojo.

While other drivers like Logan Sargent, Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, Guanyu Zhou, Kevin Magnussen, and Nico Hulkenberg might be available, they would not do justice to replacing Lewis Hamilton. While they all are considered among of the best drivers on the planet, the gap between the Briton World Champion and them is quite large.