Mercedes blocking early Ferrari F1 debut for Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton will depart Mercedes to move to Ferrari in 2025.Mercedes‘ contractual obligations mean Lewis Hamilton will be made to wait until 2025 to make his Formula 1 debut in Ferrari colours.Hamilton shocked the F1 world on the eve of the 2024 season when he announced he’d be departing Mercedes at the end of this year.The seven-time World Champion, after 18 years associated with the German marque through its works team and McLaren, will join Ferrari in 2025, embarking on a multi-year deal.In the past, the Abu Dhabi post-season test has given drivers their first taste of new F1 machinery after a switch of teams, but that won’t be the case for Hamilton.“Hamilton is under contract to Mercedes until the end of the year, and they say he cannot test for Ferrari at the end of the season, as they have a lot of promotional and farewell work to do after 12 years together – and 18 with Mercedes engines.”Other drivers have fared better when it comes to making an early switch to a new team.Fernando Alonso was testing with Aston Martin in the 2022 Abu Dhabi post-season test, right after hanging up his Alpine overalls for the final time.However, contractual and promotional obligations aside, it’s in Mercedes’ best interest to leave Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari as late as possible, given the Scuderia is a direct rival of the Brackley-based F1 outfit.