Mercedes may have offered the stronger route to an eighth title. I still understand why Hamilton chose Ferrari.
By Richard Jarocki | Updated October 14, 2026
Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: I’m still not sure Lewis Hamilton made the right move if the goal was simply to win another world championship. Looking at Mercedes in 2026, I can’t help wondering whether staying would have given him his best chance at an eighth title.
But I understand the Ferrari move. The history, the badge and the chance to add your name to that team’s story carry a pull that a championship table can’t fully explain. Hamilton had already achieved so much with Mercedes. Ferrari offered something he hadn’t experienced.
That’s where I land on the question today: I can question the timing and still understand the decision. Whether it was worth it depends on how much weight you give the title opportunity he may have left behind.
Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: Why staying at Mercedes looks tempting in hindsight
As of October 14, the official 2026 constructors’ standings put Mercedes first on 578 points and Ferrari second on 444. That makes it difficult to dismiss the thought of Hamilton still being in a Mercedes.
My instinct is that he could have been right in the championship fight. With his experience, his familiarity with the team and a competitive car underneath him, it’s easy to imagine a very different 2026.
Of course, imagining it doesn’t settle it. We can’t put Hamilton into the current Mercedes, leave every other result unchanged and award him a title. His performance, his teammate, reliability and the way the team developed around him would all matter. The 2026 season is also still underway.
So when I say staying might have been the better championship decision, that’s my view of the opportunity. It’s the unanswered part of this move that interests me most. How close might he have been to the one achievement that would take him beyond seven world titles?
Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: Hamilton chose to leave
It’s worth remembering how this happened. In its departure announcement, Mercedes confirmed Hamilton had activated a release option in his contract. He chose to leave at the end of 2024 and take on a new challenge.
That matters when judging the original question of whether this was Mercedes’ greatest mistake. The team’s choices can be debated, but this wasn’t simply Mercedes deciding it no longer wanted Hamilton and sending him away.
There’s also a big difference between making a decision in early 2024 and evaluating it in October 2026. Hamilton couldn’t know exactly how the teams would compare today. We have results available now that he didn’t have when he committed to Ferrari. Any fair assessment has to allow for that.
I understand the attraction of Ferrari
Ferrari’s history is the part of this decision I find easiest to understand. For me, no other name carries quite the same historical weight in Formula 1. Driving for Ferrari means stepping into a story that stretches well beyond the current car or the latest race weekend.
I worked in Ferrari finance and sales from 2020 to 2023, so I have my own connection to the brand. My role was on that side of the business, and my view of Hamilton’s decision comes from following the sport and understanding the appeal of Ferrari.
I wouldn’t claim every driver shares the same dream. Hamilton, however, spoke about it himself. After the announcement, he described joining Ferrari as the opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream.
That gives the move a meaning beyond choosing whichever team looks quickest. If an opportunity like that comes along after years of success elsewhere, I can understand taking it. Waiting for the perfect moment might mean never doing it at all.
Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: The first season made the gamble look harder
The car names and timeline deserve to be clear. Ferrari raced the SF-24 in 2024. Hamilton joined for 2025 and drove the SF-25, as Formula 1 confirmed before its launch.
His first season didn’t deliver the immediate transformation that the excitement around the move might have suggested. Hamilton won the Chinese Sprint, but he finished the year without a Grand Prix podium. That distinction matters: a Sprint victory and a Sunday Grand Prix victory are different results.
The team comparison was difficult too. In the final 2025 constructors’ standings, Mercedes finished second with 469 points while Ferrari was fourth with 398.
Those results made the competitive gamble harder to defend. They also showed why the early discussion needed more patience. Signing a seven-time champion creates enormous expectations, but the driver still needs a car and a team capable of delivering throughout the season.
Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: A Ferrari Grand Prix win changes the conversation
There has since been a significant result. On June 14, 2026, Hamilton won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, taking his first Grand Prix victory for Ferrari.
The FIA’s race report describes how Ferrari’s three-stop strategy helped him beat George Russell and Lando Norris. It was a proper Sunday win, and it gave this partnership something tangible beyond the announcement, the photographs and the expectations.
That victory belongs in any honest assessment of the move. So does Mercedes’ stronger position in the championship. One win gives Hamilton a moment in Ferrari’s history; a sustained title challenge asks much more of the partnership.
Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: Was leaving Mercedes worth it
My answer is still uncertain. If we’re judging only the chance of an eighth world championship, I think staying at Mercedes might have been the better route. The current results give that argument substance, even though the alternative career is something we can never test.
But I understand why Hamilton wanted Ferrari. He had the opportunity to drive for the team he dreamed about, with all the history that comes with it. I don’t find that difficult to relate to.
For now, I see a decision with a possible competitive cost and a very understandable personal reason. Hamilton has already won a Grand Prix in red. Whether the full Ferrari chapter proves worth the opportunity he left behind is still an open question.
For more from the circuit and beyond, explore my Formula 1 coverage.
