Lewis Hamilton‘s switch to Ferrari in 2025 is being touted as the biggest driver switch in the history of Formula 1. But you have to wonder, why did he decide to sign a contract with the Scuderia when he did? By the end of the 2023 season, Mercedes was pretty confident that they had solved whatever issues had been plaguing their car. Hamilton himself said that the team had found its missing North Star. So wouldn’t it have made more sense to judge the performance of the W15 first and then make the decision whether to switch to Maranello or not? And especially now, when all the cars have been revealed, Ferrari seems to be the only team that has gone for a different rear suspension setup.

RB19 is likely to go down in history as the most dominant car in Formula 1. So, naturally, it was expected that the design philosophies of other teams would eventually converge toward what Red Bull had pioneered. One of the crucial areas of the car is the geometry of the rear suspension, which plays a big part in the aerodynamic performance at the rear. While most teams, including Mercedes, have gone the Red Bull way with the push-rod configuration, Ferrari remains the outlier, sticking to its tried and tested pull-rod setup. So, it looks like Hamilton has taken a gamble on Ferrari’s development path for the next few years.

Experts are wondering what convinced Lewis Hamilton to switch to Ferrari

Enrico Cardile, Ferrari’s technical director, recently revealed that they have experimented with a push-rod rear suspension setup for a couple of years. However, they found that the benefits didn’t outweigh the potential drawbacks in terms of weight and compliance. And that is why Ferrari decided to develop its suspension while maintaining the pull-rod layout.

In a recent pre-season analysis by Sky Sports F1, Simon Lazenby took a shot at understanding Lewis Hamilton’s mega move. He said, “I wonder what assurances that Lewis has been given about 2026 and beyond. Because if we go back and we think about his move from McLaren to Mercedes, he made it at the right time. You know, we’re a couple of years off the regulation changes. But let’s not forget that this is a Ferrari that won a race the only car that won a race last year [apart from the Red Bulls].”

“When you look at the launch spec cars this year, they’re the only ones, with regards to the rear suspension, that have got this pull rod and they’ve gone their own direction on it. Mercedes themselves have moved to the same kind of suspension setup that Red Bull have gone… So I think he’s risking a lot but you know full well that he will be absolutely incredibly well briefed as to their plans for the future…“ he added.

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Lewis’ decision would have shocked the Brackley Squad more than anyone. But is there going to be an awkward environment within the team knowing that he will leave at the end of the season?

Lazenby believes Mercedes owes Hamilton the respect he deserves

It would be fair to say that F1 teams usually have a shift in perspective towards a driver who is set to leave the team. They start hiding things about the development of the car and stuff like that. Why would you give away your secrets to someone who’s going to go to one of your rivals? That makes sense, right?

However, Lazenby believes that Hamilton’s contributions to Mercedes have been monumental, to the extent that the team owes him a debt of gratitude. “Lewis has brought everything to Mercedes. Therefore, they kind of do owe him, a little bit. I think they owe him everything really and they probably owe him the respect he deserves, to treat him like the great champion he is for the time he has remaining at Mercedes,“ said Simon.

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If the W15 does turn out to be the car to beat in the upcoming season, do you think Lewis Hamilton would regret his decision to move to Ferrari? What are your thoughts on the matter?