In one fell swoop, Lewis Hamilton single-handedly rescued deadline day.
Forget about the transfer window ending with a whimper. The news the seven-time world champion is on the verge of completing a shock switch to Ferrari provided enough fireworks to lit up several New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The Briton is poised to join the Scuderia next year in what would be a fairytale ending to an extraordinary Formula One career.
The bombshell comes less than a year after Hamilton denied talks with the Italian marque over a huge £40million deal.
Instead Hamilton signed a multi-year £100m deal to stay with Mercedes for 2024 and 2025, but it now appears an ‘escape clause’ was inserted into the contract.
Lewis Hamilton is reportedly set to join Ferrari in 2025 in a bombshell switch
The Briton is expected to join Charles Leclerc (right) at the Scuderia after leaving Mercedes
Leclerc signed a new deal with Ferrari earlier this week that will keep him at the Italian team beyond the end of the 2024 season
While the timing of the deal is unexpected, the feeling Hamilton and Ferrari were always destined for each other has always proved hard to ignore.
And with good reason too. Ferrari, for all their recent struggles, remain arguably the biggest name in the sport.
The Italian team hasn’t won a world championship since 2008, but its 16 constructors’ titles remain by a Formula One record by a considerable distance.
To put the figure into context, that is more than Mercedes and Red Bull, the two juggernauts of the sport in the past two decades, have achieved between them.
It is not merely about the crude statistics either, for Ferrari embody Formula One royalty at a level none of their rivals have ever been quite managed to replicate.
Then there’s Hamilton, statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen.
The 39-year-old leads the all-time rankings for most Formula One wins and pole positions and his seven world titles are equalled only by Michael Schumacher, the Scuderia’ greatest hero.
Joining Ferrari would offer Hamilton the chance to finally eclipse the German, who won five consecutive titles with the Italian team.
Hamilton shares a joke with Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur in Azerbaijan last year
Along with Michael Schumacher, Hamilton has won a record world seven world titles
The German won five world titles in a row during an extraordinary run at Ferrari
Hamilton replaced Schumacher at Mercedes at…