Martin Brundle’s theory for Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes F1 exit

Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari because he “lost trust” in Mercedes amid their ongoing F1 struggles, according to Martin Brundle.

The seven-time world champion will leave Mercedes at the end of the year to complete a seismic switch to Ferrari after activating an exit clause in his current contract.

Analysing the move on a special edition of the Sky F1 show, Brundle said he reckons “something has dissatisfied” Hamilton in the last couple of years at Mercedes.

“Something has dissatisfied him at Mercedes-Benz, there’s no doubt about that,” Brundle said.

“But I think also, I imagine Lewis looking back at the last couple of years, he hasn’t won a race, realises that his life has taken off all sorts of other extra-circular stuff and he wants to refocus on his racing.

“He needs a new challenge as he turns 40. He’s brought Marc Hynes back in, his long-standing right-hand man at the track, a racer as it were.

“I think this is Lewis going ‘I want to refocus on my racing driving and I want this challenge.”

Hamilton hasn’t won a race for over two years due to Mercedes’ surprise decline, and the 39-year-old has grown frustrated at the team’s lack of progress.

Last year, Hamilton claimed Mercedes “didn’t listen” to him over the development of their 2023 F1 car, which proved to be no improvement on its troubled W13 predecessor.

“I think he was frustrated by that,” Brundle added. “We win together, we lose together got a bit thin didn’t it? Especially when the car was no better for 2023.

“And maybe he just lost trust in that the team can find their way through and get back on the winning trail.

“There are a lot of key people that have left the team. I’m sure all of these factors played into his decision.”