SUMMARY
- Lando Norris reveals how he found out about Lewis Hamilton's move.
- Lewis will join Ferrari from the 2025 season.
The news of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari came as a shock to everyone. The fact that he had just signed a contract extension around 3 months back with Mercedes made the news even more unexpected.
Apparently, the news was a shock to most F1 drivers as well. McLaren driver, Lando Norris gives his story on how he got the ground-breaking news from his friend.
How Lando Norris found out Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari
Since the news came during the winter break, Lando Norris was on vacation and away from his phone. So he had no idea what was happening until it had already happened. We did see him tweet about it once he found out.
“I mean it was a shock to everyone, I’m sure,” Norris told the official F1 website in a video on X.
“I was caving in Vietnam so I was without my phone for four days. When I got out of the cave, and I was sleeping on the bus on the way home and my friend’s gone, ‘Oh Lewis is driving for Ferrari!’
“I’ve just gone, ‘Ah, shut up’. I didn’t believe him, I just thought he was trying to wake me up.
“Everyone got back on their phones and I was like, ‘Actually I’m going to leave my phone off and make the most of my life without a phone for a little bit’.
Lando Norris was one of the last to find out about Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move, having been well away from the news at the time 😅#F1 #LandoNorris #LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/kNNxCV6ysI
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) February 16, 2024
“And it turned out to be true and he was telling the truth.
“It was a bit of a surprise and a bit of a back-to-reality of news and all of this stuff so I was happy to get away from it.
“But yeah, exciting news.”
Like everyone else, Lando was shocked by this news. Hamilton drove for Mercedes for 11 years, and the news of him leaving the team just developed overnight. Things moved very quickly once the rumors started to surface on social media. By the end of the same day, Mercedes officially confirmed it. The entire day, F1 fans were just waiting on their social media platforms, hitting refresh after every 10 seconds.
Can Lando Norris replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes?
With Lewis Hamiton leaving Mercedes, there is an empty seat in one of the top teams in F1. However, Lando Norris will not be able to fill this seat. Before Hamilton’s move was announced, McLaren decided to lock down their start driver for a 3-year period which will take him until the end of the 2028 season.
He already had a contract with the team until the 2025 season. This new contract will take him for 3 more years. Hence he will not be available to drive for Mercedes in 2025. But let’s take a look at a driver who could drive for the team.
Running Contract Recognition Board aware of this? 😉
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) February 1, 2024
Kimi Antonelli has been the rising star for Mercedes. Under their driver academy, Kimi has won several Championships. He will now take on the Formula 2 Championship in 2024. If he is able to win the title in his rookie season, he will most likely be Mercedes’ choice to replace Hamilton in 2025.
Who do you think will replace Lewis Hamilton after the 2024 season? Post your answers in the comments section below.