Lewis Hamilton retirement plan revealed by Mercedes insider as blockbuster Ferrari switch creeps closer
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Lewis Hamilton 'knows when the end of his career in F1 will be' ahead of his move from Mercedes to Ferrari next year, it has been claimed.
The 39-year-old agreed to make the sensational transfer earlier in the year, with the Briton eager to end his glittering time in the sport on a high.
Hamilton has endured a rough few years with Mercedes, ever since he was denied a record eighth F1 title in controversial circumstances back in 2021.
Matt Whyman recently spend 18 months working with the Silver Arrows and their staff for his new book, Inside Mercedes F1.
Lewis Hamilton 'knows when the end of his career in F1 will be' ahead of his move from Mercedes to Ferrari next year, it has been claimed
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Now, speaking to The Mirror, he's opened up on Hamilton and what the future holds for the veteran.
Whyman first says that there was a 'strange atmosphere for about 30 seconds' when Hamilton talked to staff following the news that he'd be leaving the team.
The author said: "Soon after the announcement was the shakedown for the W15 at Silverstone.
"That was the first chance that pretty much the whole team got to see Lewis.
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"It was a strange atmosphere for about 30 seconds, I would say - but as soon as he got in the car it was business as usual.
"People came to terms with it and I think people understood his reasons, which are very simple, really."
Whyman then touched upon Hamilton's retirement. He says the F1 icon 'knows when the end of his career will be' and that he has a 'clear plan' in his mind.
The author continued: "I asked him directly what was going on and he just said, ‘It is every kid's dream who gets involved in motor racing to race a Ferrari, and that is it - I did not want to get to the end of my career and look back and go, what if?’
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"He says he knows when the end of his career will be.
"He has got this very clear plan ahead of him.
"He said it is really meaningful to him, the fact that he has won all these races with Mercedes and he has been on this journey.
"The one thing he had not done [was race for Ferrari] and he just thought, ‘I do not want to walk away and go, I wish I had done that'."
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Lewis Hamilton has won six of his seven F1 titles racing for Mercedes
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Whyman also admits that Hamilton struggled to tell his staff that he'd be leaving, branding the Mercedes driver 'very human'.
"His team mean a great deal to him - all his engineers, Bono, all the team, they mean such a lot to him," he admitted.
"Every year he takes them paintballing, just a pre-season bonding experience, and it was all set up to go so he had to go to the paintballing.
"He said to me that he arrived and he saw them all waiting to go in.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will be team-mates at Ferrari next yearPA"He said he could not get out of the car for 20 minutes. He was just so struck with, ‘What am I going to say to them after all of this time?’ He is very human. I do not think this was a robotic decision.
"I know Lewis can come across as very focused and it is a focused decision, but he is a human being, he knows that it has repercussions and on a friendship level, that was the thing that he cared about most of all.
"Talking to his colleagues, I think everyone understands. It is Ferrari, and this is a guy who has done everything - that is the one think he has not done."
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