SUMMARY
- The ambitions of Lewis Hamilton reportedly blocked by a clause in his Mercedes F1 contract.
- Recent rumors suggest that several Mercedes employees are considering following Hamilton to Ferrari.
Over the past few months, Ferrari has been busy poaching employees, including prominent engineers from Mercedes. While it started with mere engineers, the Maranello outfit has ended the hunting season on a high note by catching what is arguably the biggest fish in the sea, Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion will make a sensational move from Mercedes to Ferrari following the 2024 F1 campaign.
Of course, not only does this affect the stability within Mercedes, but it also affects the mentality of the remaining employees working in Brackley. Subsequently, one could sense that the worst may not be over for Mercedes, considering a handful of employees might consider following Hamilton to Ferrari. The list features Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington and several others.
🚨 CONFIMATION: Lewis Hamilton is FORBIDDEN from directly poaching Mercedes staff to join him at Ferrari due to a clause in his Mercedes contract.
Motorsport Italy first reported the clause this morning, and PlanetF1 reached out to Mercedes and confirmed that the clause exists. pic.twitter.com/5MxkZQybK9
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) February 8, 2024
Interestingly though, Mercedes have reportedly dodged a bullet here by playing smart with the seven-time world champion’s contract. According to reports, Hamilton’s contract has a clause wherein the Briton is banned from initiating talks with his fellow team members to join his future outfit. In this case, Hamilton is not allowed to take any of his team members from Mercedes to Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes saga: How does the non-poaching clause work?
It isn’t really a surprise to see Mercedes initiating such a clause in Hamilton’s contract, considering it’s quite common among the majority of the teams on the grid. But, the question is, how does this clause work? Well, it’s quite simple. Hamilton remains the focal point of this subject and is not allowed to ask his teammates to join him at Ferrari.
And it does make sense that Toto Wolff wanted this clause in place for someone as powerful and influential as Hamilton. But, unfortunately for the Austrian, this rule doesn’t apply to Ferrari. The Maranello outfit will have all the rights to initiate talks with Hamilton’s fellow teammates, hoping to lure them into the team.
The only way Hamilton could be involved in this is by pointing his finger at his crew and Ferrari extending their offers to them. Hamilton could also use the media as a gateway of communication, possibly a statement signaling his interest in a particular team member.
Overall, there are numerous talents left at Mercedes, including Andrew Shovlin and Peter Bonnington. And the bad news for Mercedes is that both share a close relationship with Hamilton. Hence, are we in for an intense end to the glorious Hamilton-Mercedes saga? Let’s see what the future holds.