A contractual clause will prevent Lewis Hamilton from leaving Mercedes with key personnel
The Briton has signed a two-season extension with Mercedes in 2023. In this contract, a clause allowed Lewis Hamilton to leave the team in 2025 if he wished. However, another option will prevent him from leaving with any staff.
Lewis Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes is filled with clauses. After surprising the Formula 1 world by announcing his signature with Ferrari (by exercising the departure option in 2025), several questions were raised about the future of some of Mercedes’ staff members.
The British arrived in 2013 in the German team and built himself an entourage. As a result, several doubts remained regarding the future of some staff members.
Moreover, it is common for drivers to take their engineers with them in case of a transfer. Speculations were sending Peter Bonnington in pursuit of Lewis Hamilton. The race engineer of Mercedes has been working with the six-time World Champion since 2013.
The two men forged significant bonds while contributing to the successes of Mercedes. Peter Bonnington played a part in Lewis Hamilton’s 81 Grand Prix victories.
Toto Wolff recently admitted that he should discuss with his engineer. “I think it’s a conversation that everyone needs to have in the coming months,” he conceded. “Even though I’ve already mentioned it to Bono when I talked to him about Hamilton’s move, he said, ‘Is it April Fool’s Day?’ It’s something we will discuss in the near future.”
However, a spokesperson for Mercedes stated that there is a non-poaching clause in the contract signed by Lewis Hamilton during the summer of 2023. Therefore, the British driver will not be able to approach any staff members in his new venture with Ferrari.
Recurring clauses
These clauses are common in companies. In the context of the departure of an executive, the option prevents a mass departure of its staff to the competition. This helps to preserve trade secrets and protect against intellectual theft.
In Formula 1, this type of agreement has already been signed. In 2015, when he joined Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel was unable to leave Red Bull with his engineer Guillaume Rocquelin. Teams have been cautious about these risks, wanting to avoid repeating the story of Michael Schumacher. The Red Baron had taken with him Benetton’s main engineers, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, to Ferrari in 1996.
