Formula 1: Here’s why Lewis Hamilton will never drive for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton discussed why he will ultimately never end up competing for Ferrari in his Formula 1 career despite the seemingly never-ending rumors of a switch.

Late in the 2019 Formula 1 season and even before the 2020 season began and Ferrari had solidified their driver lineup for next year with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., Lewis Hamilton had been rumored to make the switch from Mercedes to Ferrari.

Hamilton, who recently secured a record-tying seventh world championship to match Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s mark, is the only driver — there are five — to have won at least more than four titles and not ever competed for the Scuderia.

These rumors were nothing new, either; the Hamilton to Ferrari rumors have abounded for the last several seasons.

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But with Hamilton entering the 2020 season without a contract to compete in 2021 after signing a two-year extension in July of 2018, they were at an all-time high, with one source even saying that a move was “certain”.

However, with Leclerc under contract at the Italian team through the 2024 season and Sainz having signed to replace Vettel on a two-year deal beginning next year, a move to Ferrari for Hamilton cannot happen now until 2023 at the earliest, presumably quieting those rumors for the next several years.

Hamilton wants to quiet those rumors once and for all.

Despite all kinds of rumors about Hamilton’s future when he was meeting with and talking with Ferrari toward the end of the 2019 season, the 35-year-old Briton noted that he was never close to signing with the team.

He doesn’t ever see himself competing for another team aside from Mercedes, the team for which he has competed since 2013 following a six-year stint with McLaren, and he hinted that Ferrari aren’t a diverse enough of a team for him to represent.

Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to Sky Sports.

"“I was never close at all to ever leaving my team. I think it’s only right as drivers, as people, when you’re looking at your next phase and committing to the next stage of your life you have to analyze what your options are and make sure you do your due diligence and have the pros and cons. I don’t know whether our values are aligned and timing…it just wasn’t meant to be.”“I’m so grateful with what I have with Mercedes. This is the only team in the history of the sport where you’re a long-life family member, the older greats have been a part of the Mercedes brand for their whole life, you’re a part of the road of evolution, they include you in the family forever. That’s loyalty, which I have tattooed, and it’s such an important value to me.”“We talked on occasion but we didn’t go beyond understanding what options were on the table and they weren’t the right ones. The Ferrari thing is not going to happen…I think. I’ve always been positive about Ferrari. I watched Michael win there. I’ve always been a Ferrari fan. I remember one of the first cars I ever bought was a Ferrari. And I think it’s a hugely iconic team and brand, particularly.“I think the team has, in my period of time…There have been things I’ve seen that I don’t necessarily feel mirror my values and my approach. However, it is a team that every driver, I think, has dreamed of what it would be like to sit in the red cockpit.“No disrespect to them, but when I stop I want to work with Mercedes in helping them be even better in the outside world. You know, they’ll always have beautiful cars, but how can we be a more diverse industry?”"

Hamilton is still without a contract to compete in the 2021 Formula 1 season, but Mercedes appear to be the only option aside from retirement. Hamilton has won four world championships in a row and six of the last seven for the Silver Arrows, which have now secured a record seven consecutive constructor titles and seven consecutive driver titles.

His 94 wins are an all-time record and his 73 wins with the team, including 72 in the last seven seasons, are an all-time record with a single constructor.