LEWIS HAMILTON’S bombshell move to Ferrari was revealed in a BEER advert earlier this week – but everybody missed it.
The legendary seven-time world champion announced on Thursday that he has agreed to drive for F1’s most famous team in 2025 and 2026.
Hamilton, who will see out this season with Mercedes, has signed a £100million mega deal in a switch that has shocked F1.
However, now it has emerged that the Brit’s big news was actually already out there and hiding in plain sight.
Ferrari and beer brand Peroni entered a new sponsorship partnership this week.
And during the announcement of that, they appear to have given away the secret early.
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Ferrari and Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% have joined forces in a multi-year partnership and confirmed the deal on Wednesday.
To celebrate, Peroni released a graphic that had several Ferrari items alongside their iconic bottle of alcohol-free beer.
But it seems something about the miniature red racing car featured in the advert when completely unnoticed.
Can you see it in the image above?
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The huge clue is the 44 plastered on the miniature car.
That, of course, is Hamilton’s lucky racing number, and it is only now that fans are beginning to realise that the big move was there staring them straight in the face.
He previously revealed: “When I started racing when I was eight, the number plate on my dad’s car – he had this red Cavalier – was F44.
“So he used 44 – it was his idea. And then it became the family lucky number.”
Hamilton’s exit is a huge blow to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff ahead of the new F1 season, which kicks off in Bahrain on March 2nd.
But he is adamant that he remains committed to finishing the season with Mercedes before taking on a new challenge as he chases a record eight title crown.
He said: “I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I’m so proud of what we have achieved together.
“Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old.
“It’s a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make.
“But the time is right for me to take this step and I’m excited to be taking on a new challenge.
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“I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto for his friendship and leadership and I want to finish on a high together.
“I am 100 per cent committed to delivering the best performance I can this season and making my last year with the Silver Arrows, one to remember.”
WHO COULD REPLACE HAMILTON AT MERCEDES?
Mercedes will have a vacant seat for 2025.
Here, SunSport’s F1 correspondent Ben Hunt looks at FIVE potential candidates who could replace him and partner George Russell in the Silver Arrows.
Oscar Piastri – McLaren have sewn up Lando Norris to a new long-term contract that should (in theory) put him out of Mercedes’ reach. However, they are yet to tie down his teammate Piastri, 22. The Aussie has an excellent record and won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles before spending a year on the sidelines with Alpine and getting his chance in F1 with McLaren. He impressed on his debut season last year and has the potential to be a world champion.
Daniel Ricciardo – The experienced driver’s future remains in doubt as he bides his time at Red Bull’s B-team. Ricciardo would be low-hassle and offer some stability but by that time he would be 35. It seems unlikely that they would opt for him at this point in his career, but if he has a good season this year, he could come into the reckoning.
Kimi Antonelli – You may not have heard of the Italian, but he is mustard. Still only 17, he has won at all the junior categories and has been part of the Mercedes young driver programme since 2019. This season he has been promoted from F4 to F2, where he has been tipped to shine. A good debut season in F2 could sway Mercedes into taking a risk on him for 2025. Antonelli and his family are close to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Mick Schumacher – Wolff has always been so incredibly supportive of Schumacher and spoken highly of him, that you’d at least expect him to come into consideration. He knows the team from his role as reserve driver and consequently would get up to speed. But speed is also the problem. He was shocking at Haas and if he really was THAT good, he’d still be driving in F1.
Alex Albon – A more-sensible choice would be the London-born Albon. A great guy who is also very quick. He has a fantastic relationship with Russell and would be the low-maintenance quick partnership similar to Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas that swept to successive titles. Albon would take little convincing to join from Williams and Mercedes would not need to pay him half of the £50million they were dishing out to Hamilton.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
