Lewis Hamilton’s choice to leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season to move to Ferrari was reportedly partly driven by the departure of engineer Loic Serra.
It was announced on Thursday that Hamilton had activated a break clause in his current Mercedes contract and agreed to switch to Ferrari to partner Charles Leclerc from 2025.
The Briton capitalised on Mercedes’ initial dominance of the V6 turbo-hybrid era to equal Michael Schumacher’s seven titles and also broke the previous record for race wins.
However, Hamilton has concluded the previous two years without a victory amid the Brackley-based squad’s troubles since F1 returned to ground effect machinery in 2022.
According to RacingNews365, the impending arrival of Serra, who was Head of Vehicle Performance at Mercedes, to Ferrari next year played a role in Hamilton’s bombshell.
The root of Mercedes’ struggles in this regulation era can be traced back to opting to construct slim sidepods and then persevering with that concept last term.
It is speculated that Serra was against that philosophy – which was assembled by the technical team headed by Mike Elliott, who elected to leave midway through last year.
Expanding further, it is touted that Serra retained concerns over the extensive wheelbase and the floor on its W13 and W14 cars, which delivered a combined one win.
Hamilton was vocal early last year about his frustrations with Mercedes, contending that the complaints he voiced over its 2022 machine weren’t addressed last season.
“Last year, I told them the issues that are with the car,” Hamilton said. “I’ve driven so many cars in my life, so I know what a car needs, I know what a car doesn’t need.
“And I think it’s really about accountability, it’s about owning up and saying ‘yeah, you know what, we didn’t listen to you, it’s not where it needs to be and we’ve got to work’.”
Serra had elected to accept Ferrari’s contract to help bolster the Italian marque’s technical ranks before James Allison returned to the role of Technical Director at Mercedes.
Allison is overseeing a revamped car concept on the German outfit’s W15 challenger, with the Briton detailing he was optimistic it has dialled out the “spiteful” rear end traits that hampered both Hamilton and George Russell throughout last season.
But Allison’s hopes of reviving Mercedes’ fortunes ahead of the next rules reset in 2026 will be done without several engineers who will also accompany Serra to Ferrari.
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