By: Alyssa Elness

Silly season has come early to the Formula 1 community. If you are new to F1, Silly Season can be summarized as a period of time in the F1 season where a bunch of rumors float around the internet about drivers trading teams for the next season. 

       On February 1st, Silly Season arrived for the 2024 season. 

      Sky Sports News first posted the news, saying that Lewis Hamilton would be moving to Ferrari for the 2025 season. Many people were shocked by the news. I was surely overwhelmed by the news and did not know if I should believe Sky Sports News since F1, Hamilton, nor Mercedes did not confirm the post.  

(Picture Credit @skysportnewsf1 Instagram page)

Just as I was 100% sure that Sky Sports lied to us, I saw Mercedes’ Instagram post confirming Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes and moving to Ferrari for the 2025 season. 

       Everyone was shocked by the news. 

      If you know what Formula 1 is, you probably have heard the name Lewis Hamilton. He is a F1 race car driver who has won 7 World Championships and has been at Mercedes for 11 years. He has gone down in F1 history as one of the greats like Michael Schumacher and Aryton Senna. Hamilton has not changed teams in a long time and many people believed he would stay at Mercedes until he retired, but Hamilton had other plans.  

       Many people do not believe that Hamilton moving to Ferrari is a good idea for him especially after Ferrari’s 2023 season. Mercedes beat Ferrari in the Constructors Championship. Last season, Red Bull Racing came in 1st, Mercedes came in 2nd, and Ferrari came in 3rd. If you do not know what the Constructors Championship is, it is the F1 team who has the most points from the season. They win the title and money which they can use to better improve their car along with some other things. 

       Hamilton in his Instagram post which confirmed his move to Ferrari expressed how this has been a dream of his since he was a little kid. He wants to do his best with Mercedes in the 2024 season but he is so excited for the move to Ferrari in 2025.        

(Picture Credit: @lewishamilton instagram)

Another issue people are talking about is who will be Ferrari’s lead driver for 2025? 

      Charles Leclerc is Ferrari’s lead driver right now. The Monégasque race car driver has been at Ferrari since the 2019 season. He is very loyal to the team and Ferrari has seemed to put most of their focus on Leclerc, but with Hamilton coming in 2025 things might change around at Ferrari. 

       I think Ferrari’s best interest would to still still focus on Leclerc since he is young and has more years left in Formula 1 than Hamilton. Leclerc has the passion and the drive to push for a World Championship at Ferrari and nothing/no one will get in Leclerc’s way. 

      At Mercedes’ Hamilton was the number 1 driver there and I think it will be an awakening for Hamilton if Ferrari puts more focus on Leclerc instead of him. 

     The last topic to discuss is what will happen to Carlos Saniz who Hamilton is replacing at Ferrari. As of right now, Saniz has nowhere to go for the 2025 season, but there are rumors that he might be moving to Aston Martin. 

    Who knows what the driver’s lineup will look like for the 2025 season, but one thing is for sure, Silly Season has started and it might just be the craziest one yet.