Lewis Hamilton's contract with Ferrari from 2025 contains a secret clause inserted by his current team Mercedes, according to a new report.
Hamilton will join Ferrari on a multi-year contract from the beginning of the 2025 season, where he will team with Charles Leclerc.
The exact length of contract is yet to be officially confirmed, though reports claim it is a two-year deal with an option of an additional year in 2027.
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Hamilton will have spent the last 11 years as a Mercedes driver by the end of the 2024 season - his final season for the team - and his association with the German company dates back 25 years, when they held a stake in the McLaren team and supplied engines.
The 39-year-old's decision to move to Ferrari, therefore, surprised many in the F1 community before it was announced last Thursday.
Following the news, attention quickly turned towards whether any other Mercedes team members could follow Hamilton to Maranello - including his long-serving race engineer Peter Bonnington.
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When asked last week about the possibility of 'Bono' leaving, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff replied: "I think this is a discussion which everyone needs to have in the months to come.
"And as much I've spoken with Bono already, when I told him [about Hamilton's move], he said, 'Is it April the 1st?' That's something which we will discuss in the future."
But according to PlanetF1, Ferrari may encounter a stumbling block in any attempt to bring key Mercedes staff members to the Italian team.
The outlet reports that there is a 'no-poaching' clause in Hamilton's Ferrari contract, which means that the seven-time world champion cannot approach any members of the Mercedes team while they are still under contract.
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PlanetF1 added that they have been informed by Mercedes that the presence of the clause is 'accurate'.
That would not stop Ferrari from signing any Mercedes personnel, though, as they would still have the option to negotiate their own departures with the Silver Arrows themselves, or simply wait for the expiry of their contracts if applicable.
As a result, therefore, we could see still team members making the switch in time for the 2025 season.
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Ferrari, Formula 1