Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has revealed he knew a 'secret' about Lewis Hamilton that was kept hidden for 'quite a long time amongst members of the F1 community.
It was announced last week that Hamilton would be making the move to Ferrari on a 'multi-year contract' from the 2025 season, sending shockwaves through F1 in the process.
Hamilton spoke of his desire to take on a new challenge following the announcement, while his current team Mercedes are currently searching for his replacement.
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He will end an association of over 25 years with Mercedes, dating back to when they held a stake in Hamilton's former team McLaren and were their engine supplier.
The 39-year-old will team up with Charles Leclerc, meaning that Carlos Sainz will leave the Scuderia upon the expiry of his contract at the end of 2024.
The Monegasque driver has previously spoken last season about potentially having Hamilton as a team-mate, and it has been reported by Italian outlets that he was aware of Ferrari's decision to bring the seven-time world champion into the team.
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Formu1a.uno, meanwhile, reported that Ferrari's move for Hamilton was a 'presidential decree', meaning that the people with knowledge of the situation 'could be counted on one hand'.
But according to Gasly, who was speaking at the launch of Alpine's 2024 car on Wednesday, there may have been a number of other F1 personnel that secretly knew about the talks as well.
The Frenchman, who won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, told reporters: "Obviously he's been a long time with Mercedes, but I was aware of some talks with Ferrari.
"Ultimately, he's towards the end of his career. So it was either now or never.
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"I think it was kept secret for quite a long time. I just wish him the best.
"Obviously, it's sort of exciting with the driver market, and all of you guys come with it, which is normal. But I think ultimately, for the sport, he is the most successful driver of all time joining a new project, a new challenge.
"I'm sure everybody will follow that very closely."
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1, Mercedes, Ferrari