Grosjean: I didn’t expect Lewis to leave Mercedes at all

Roman Grosjean dedicated the next episode of his YouTube video blog entirely to the most important news of the week: Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari in 2025. The French driver, who is preparing for his fourth season in IndyCar, admitted that the decision of the seven-time world champion surprised him.

Roman Grosjean: “To be honest, I was no less surprised than many of you, I didn’t expect Lewis to ever leave Mercedes. But that’s the kind of person he is. He is not afraid to take on new challenges, just think of his switch from McLaren to Mercedes in 2012.

Even then everyone was surprised, because Lewis actually grew up at McLaren and was a protégé of Ron Dennis for a long time. In those years, McLaren was still a quite successful team, while Mercedes had a more difficult time. The 2013 season proved difficult for Hamilton, but he still won his first race behind the wheel of a Mercedes – it was the Hungarian Grand Prix.

And now he plans to take on a new challenge. We all know that Ferrari is a unique racing team, the most famous in the motorsport world, but the question remains open: why did Hamilton decide to move to the Scuderia?

I’ll be honest: Mercedes never managed to reach the previous level after Formula 1 switched to new technical regulations. The team tries to win back, but it all takes longer than expected. It remains very competitive, but Red Bull Racing is doing so great now that everyone else is destined to catch up.

However, Ferrari is the only team besides Red Bull that won at least one race last year. The duet between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc promises to be very interesting, because Lewis is not afraid of competition with anyone. Let’s remember who was his partner when he made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren? None other than Fernando Alonso is one of the most aggressive, fastest and most ambitious drivers in the championship.

I was very lucky: in 2009 I was his teammate in the Renault team, for which I drove seven races, and I can say that Fernando is an incredibly high-level professional.

So Lewis is not afraid of challenges, and Charles will be a great reference for him. We must also understand that Frederic Vasseur, the current head of Ferrari, worked with Lewis in 2005, when Hamilton won the Formula 3 Euro Series, and then in 2006, when he became GP2 series champion. So they know each other very well.

I don’t know if this can be considered a factor influencing Hamilton’s decision, but it is clear that he knows Vasseur’s working method. As I continue the conversation about Ferrari, I wonder: where will Carlos Sainz go, whose place will Lewis take?

On the one hand, he has good ties with Audi, as his father, Carlos Sainz Sr., works at this company, and this could be a factor that will determine his future fate. But Carlos can go to Mercedes, and then another very interesting story awaits us.

Of course Mercedes has Kimi Antonelli, a future superstar. I think that of all the young drivers who are already on their way to Formula 1, he is the most promising. But he may still be too young to make his debut in Formula 1 and drive for Mercedes in 2025.

Overall, I have a feeling it will be interesting. I am already looking forward to the 2024 season, but I think that overall 2025 will be very rich in surprises.”