Lewis Hamilton has already been in contact with soon-to-be Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc – as Carlos Sainz, the driver forced to make way for the seven-time world champion, revealed the shock switch came out of the blue.
Hamilton, 39, will leave Mercedes at the end of this year after agreeing a blockbuster move to Ferrari in 2025 – the biggest transfer in Formula One history.
Hamilton is set to make his first public appearance since news broke of his decision to quit Mercedes when the Silver Arrows unveil their new car at Silverstone on Wednesday.
Hamilton will appear alongside team principal Toto Wolff and fellow Brit George Russell.
On Tuesday, Ferrari took the wraps off the contender they hope will allow them to challenge Red Bull and Max Verstappen when the new season starts in Bahrain next month.
But it was Hamilton’s name which dominated proceedings – despite the Ferrari PR machine attempting to restrict questions about their star signing.
Hamilton will partner Leclerc at Ferrari after the Monegasque signed a new long-term contract, understood to run until 2029, just days before the British driver’s move was announced.
“This kind of deal is not finalised overnight, and I was aware of those discussions (with Hamilton) before I signed my deal so it did not come as a surprise,” said Leclerc, 26.
“Obviously, Lewis is an incredible driver, the most successful in history, and he brings a lot of experience to the team.
“I had discussions with Lewis, especially when everything was announced and official. We texted each other.
“He is a great champion with so much success. It is always interesting to have a new team-mate, because you learn different ways of driving and working, and even more so when my new team-mate is a seven-time world champion.”
Ferrari have not won a drivers’ title since 2007, but they hope Hamilton – a winner of a record 103 races – can fire them to that elusive title. Hamilton will be 40 when he makes his transfer from Mercedes.
“It is a huge opportunity for the team and we are sure that Lewis will bring us a decent step for the future,” said Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, who played a prominent role in Hamilton’s formative career in Formula Two.
“I have had a good relationship (with Hamilton) for 20 years, and we were always in contact speaking about different things. It was not the easiest call of my life (to tell Sainz), but one of the most difficult was with Toto.”
Hamilton’s switch leaves Sainz – the only driver outside of Red Bull to win a race last year – scrambling for a seat.
“I was a bit surprised, like everyone in the Formula One world,” said the Spaniard, 29.
“From my side you can understand I got to know the news a bit earlier than anyone else, and I had some weeks to reflect, prepare and get ready for the car launch and the first race of the season. That gave me a bit of time to digest it and to draw my own conclusions.
“I don’t know the identity of my next team. But there are plenty of options out there.
“I am approaching the most important three or four years of my career and I want to make sure that I am in the right place.”
Norris celebrates first-ever Formula 1 win in Miami Grand Prix
Lando Norris said it was “about time” after he claimed his maiden Formula 1 victory in the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 24-year-old started the race in fifth but took the chequered flag with a seven-second advantage over Max Verstappen, who had taken pole position.
Norris capitalised with a timely pit stop behind the safety car following a crash between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant, who was unable to finish the race.
Verstappen had led for the first 29 laps despite missing the chicane on lap 21 and hitting a bollard, but when the race restarted with 27 remaining, he struggled to keep pace with Norris, who was the quickest car on the track.
Charles Leclerc rounded out the podium, pipping his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz to third, with Sergio Perez just beating Lewis Hamilton to a top-five finish.
After getting his first win in his 110th F1 race, Norris was quick to praise his team for their hard work in the process.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "About time! What a race. It's been a long time coming. Finally, I've managed to do it.
"I'm so happy for my whole team. I finally delivered for them. Long day, tough race. Finally, on top, so I'm over the moon.
"Thanks to McLaren, everyone. I'll give a shout-out to my mum and dad, of course.
"I'm just proud. A lot of people doubted me along the way. I've made a lot of mistakes over my last five years in my short career, but today we put it altogether.
"This is all for the team. I stuck with McLaren because I could believe in them and do believe in them. Today we proved exactly that."
Verstappen follows up sprint race win by taking pole at Miami Grand Prix
Max Verstappen continued to be critical of his own performance despite taking pole position for the Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who won the sprint earlier on Saturday and had on Friday claimed pole in qualifying for that event, recorded a best time of 1:27.241 round the track in the final qualification session for Sunday's race.
The reigning Formula One world champion will share the front row with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who like in the sprint, came second.
Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz pipped Red Bull's Sergio Perez to third, while Lando Norris rounded out the top five.
Verstappen, though, was not particularly thrilled with his drive, continuing the trend after both qualifying on Friday and the sprint race.
He said: "We definitely improved the car a bit but I don’t know what it is but every single year we come here I find it extremely difficult to be very consistent with the car and tyre feeling over one lap. It’s super hard to make sure that Sector One feels good and Sector Three at the end of the lap to make that happen together is incredibly tough.
"Again today it was really about finding that balance, I think we did ok, it wasn't the most enjoyable lap out of my career especially with how slippery it is and you aren't very confident on the lap but we are on pole."
Leclerc said: "I felt so much on the limit. It was very close until Q3, where we started to push for the last one or two tenths. We started to lose the tyres in sector two and three, overheating them quite a bit. That's where we lost a little bit of time.
"However, the race is long and this morning we showed a good pace, so I hope tomorrow we can put Max under a bit more pressure."
Lewis Hamilton recovered from a 20-second penalty in the sprint race to qualify in seventh, one place behind Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Verstappen clinches sprint victory at Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton hit with penalty
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen claimed victory in the sprint race ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen clinched pole for the sprint in Friday's qualifying session, and capitalised on that effort to finish ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on Saturday.
The Dutchman had to see off an early push from Leclerc, but ultimately had too much.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate, recovered from an early mistake to finish third.
Daniel Ricciardo took fourth, having fended off the challenge of both Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri.
It was a bad drive for Lewis Hamilton, who was penalised for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him from eighth down to 16th.
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