Mercedes, like Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel, has restricted Lewis Hamilton from bringing engineers with him to Scuderia Ferrari, but there is an alternative. With Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari from 2025 officially confirmed, speculation has erupted in the media regarding which of his loyal engineers would follow him into the red team.
Names such as Peter Bonnington, Lewis’s long-time race engineer, and technicians Andrew Shovlin and Riccardo Musconi have been circulating. However, it seems there is no chance of that happening. As reported by Motorsport.com, Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes includes a “non-poaching clause.”
This clause is essentially a non-competition agreement that prevents Lewis from taking certain former colleagues with him to Ferrari, thereby keeping them with Mercedes.
The presence of such clauses is not a novelty in Formula 1. Teams have long used this measure in contracts for top managers as well as some drivers. A similar incident occurred at the end of the 2014 season. After parting ways with Ferrari, Fernando Alonso managed to bring his race engineer Andrea Stella with him to McLaren.
However, the same was not allowed for Sebastian Vettel, set to replace Fernando Alonso in red. Red Bull, indeed, thanks to the inclusion of a “non-poaching clause” in Sebastian Vettel’s contract, prevented Guillaume “Rocky” Rocquelin (Vettel’s race engineer) from following him.
Mercedes Engineers at Ferrari: The Alternative Route
Is it impossible, then, for Lewis to bring some reinforcements from Mercedes? Not necessarily. An agreement among all parties could still allow a move to Maranello without violating the non-competition clause.
At the same time, it is reasonable to believe that Mercedes, stung by Lewis’s departure, would want to avoid any further losses, especially in the delicate years preceding a regulatory revolution.
Source: f1ingenerale
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