Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed Lewis Hamilton was “crying and laughing” after learning of the team’s historic deal with Adidas for the 2025 F1 season.
Mercedes announced last month that it had teamed up with Adidas for a multi-year deal starting in F1 2025, with the apparel giants supplying team equipment to the Brackley-based team.
Toto Wolff: Lewis Hamilton disappointed Mercedes-Adidas deal failed to closeThe deal represents Adidas’ first foray into the top tier of motorsport, having established itself as an iconic brand in other sports in recent decades.
Mercedes released the first images of the team’s bold new look for F1 2025 on Thursday with drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, as well as Wolff, modelling the team’s new clothing range.
The racing suits worn by Russell and Antonelli also made their first appearance, featuring the instantly recognisable three-stripe motif on the shoulders and lower legs.
Hamilton will not work with Adidas, having joined Mercedes rivals Ferrari on a multi-year deal starting in the 2025 F1 season.
And Wolff revealed the seven-time world champion was disappointed to learn he would not be able to lead the partnership, having previously expressed his admiration for the sports brand.
Wolff told Sky F1: “Lewis said it was probably the most culturally relevant sporting brand.
“I think he cried and laughed when he heard we were going to Adidas.”
Hamilton’s deal with Ferrari, which pairs the most decorated driver in F1 history with the sport’s most successful team, has become a commercial juggernaut.
The seven-time world champion’s first official photo as a Ferrari driver, taken outside the home used as an office by the team’s late founder Enzo Ferrari, became the most-liked F1-related Instagram post of all time last month.
Ferrari’s share price soared 10% to a new record high after Hamilton’s signing was confirmed a year ago, when the team welcomed Italian bank UniCredit as a new major sponsor for the 2025 F1 season.
Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc are expected to take part in a joint Ferrari-UniCredit event in Milan in early March before heading to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Speaking on a conference call to discuss Ferrari’s 2024 financials, chief executive Benedetto Vigna recently described Hamilton’s arrival as “certainly good” from a marketing perspective.
He insisted, however, that on-track success is the team’s priority under Hamilton, saying: “Our goal is to compete at the highest level in Formula 1 and the endurance championship, with a strengthened team and a clear objective: to win.”
“Brand-wise, Lewis’ arrival is certainly good for us. It will be a good partnership with Leclerc.”
Meanwhile, Williams is reportedly close to securing a new title sponsor for the 2025 F1 season.
A respected business publication said Thursday that the team was close to closing a deal with Australian firm Atlassian, the company behind the Jira project management software.
Williams will field an exciting driver line-up for F1 2025, with former Ferrari star Carlos Sainz joining Alex Albon.
Sainz was forced to give up his place to Hamilton at Ferrari, after being informed before last season that his contract would not be extended beyond F1 2024.
The Spaniard had the most complete season of his F1 career, taking two wins in Australia and Mexico.
