LEWIS HAMILTON reportedly had a secret clause in his contract with Mercedes which could affect his time at Ferrari.
The British driver will join the Italian team for the 2025 season after activating a break clause in his Mercedes deal.
Hamilton, 39, signed a two-year deal with Ferrari worth £100 million.
This will bring an end to his 11-year association with the Brackley-based Silver Arrows.
However, he will not be allowed to bring anyone with him to Maranello.
PlanetF1.com have claimed that Hamilton had a “no-poaching” clause in his deal to prevent him from doing that.
Hamilton had been linked with a move to take race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington with him.
But Mercedes are said to have said that the existence of the clause was “accurate”.
This type of clause is not uncommon in F1 as Sebastian Vettel, 36, had a similar one when he was at Red Bull.
The German was unable to take race engineer Guillaume ‘Rocky’ Rocquelin with him when he joined Ferrari in 2015.
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Hamilton’s move to Ferrari shouldn’t come as a surprise, as he admitted in 2015 that he was keen to drive for the Italians before retiring.
He will become the 12th Brit to get behind the wheel and race for Ferrari.
Former world champion Jenson Button reckons Fernando Alonso would be the ideal candidate to replace Hamilton at Mercedes.
Button told Sky F1: “I might have a bit of a man-crush on my ex-team-mate, but I would love to see Fernando Alonso.
“He is 42 now, but the hunger is there. And if the hunger is there, the fitness is there.”
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
