Details of Lewis Hamilton's contract with Ferrari emerge online including 'special clauses'

Lewis Hamilton has agreed a multi-year deal to join Ferrari from Mercedes in 2025 - and European media have reported on some aspects of the contract.

The seven-time world champion will move to Ferrari following the conclusion of the 2024 season, replacing Carlos Sainz.

Hamilton penned a new two-year contract with Mercedes in August to cover the 2024 and 2025 campaigns - but it was revealed on Thursday that the second year was only an option.

Official confirmation arrived at 7pm on Thursday evening, with Mercedes announcing that Hamilton had exercised his option to leave the team at the end of 2024.

Ferrari released a short statement of their own, simply confirming that Hamilton had signed a multi-year contract.

French outlet Sportune report that the deal with Ferrari is worth $80 million per year, with $20 million of that sum given in bonuses 'for the benefit of' Hamilton's foundation, which would put him in line with what Red Bull's Max Verstappen is earning.

Italian outlet Formu1a.uno add that Hamilton's overall earnings will be made up from a combination of salary, sponsors, image rights, bonuses and more. They claim that the total figure will be around $100 million per year.

The same outlet claims that Hamilton was given technical guarantees as a clause during contract negotiations which convinced him to sign, mainly surrounding the engine that Ferrari are developing to meet the new technical regulations in 2026.

Forbes reported in November that Hamilton had earned a salary of $55 million (around £43.4 million) at Mercedes in 2023, but with no bonus listed.

That salary figure was said to be higher than Verstappen, who earned $45 million but with an extra $25 million in bonuses.

Therefore, Hamilton's new contract will make him one of, if not the, highest-paid drivers currently on the F1 grid.

When he does get to work at Maranello, a title battle between Verstappen, Hamilton, team-mate Charles Leclerc and potentially the likes of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could be one for the ages.