When Hamilton’s decision to go from Mercedes to Ferrari was made official on Thursday night, it stunned the Formula One community.
In August, the 39-year-old agreed to a new two-year contract with the Silver Arrows, which is likely to go until the 2024–2025 campaign.
However, rumours that the second year was only an option surfaced on Thursday morning, perhaps leading to an incredible transfer to Ferrari.
After the 2024 season, Hamilton will drive for Mercedes, and when Carlos Sainz’s contract expires, he will take over at the Scuderia.
Peter Bonnington, the racing engineer for Mercedes, has been one of Hamilton’s most important allies. The seven-time world champion believes that Bonnington has been instrumental in his success in the sport.
Another important person at Mercedes is Andrew Shovlin, director of track engineering. In addition to serving as Michael Schumacher’s race engineer in 2010, he is well known for serving as Jenson Button’s race engineer during the 2009 Brawn GP championship season.
However, according per journalist Kemal Sengul of Motorsport.com, Bonnington and Shovlin are reportedly “not keen” on moving to Maranello at this time.
These are reportedly the first people Hamilton wants to bring to Ferrari, raising the possibility that the Scuderia will select more team members.
Though he will still collaborate with Bonnington and Shovlin at Mercedes this year, the British driver does have time on his side.
Sufficient time for them to reconsider? We’ll just have to wait and see.