News of Lewis Hamilton's sensational move to Ferrari for 2025 sent shockwaves through Formula 1 on Thursday, but also boosted the Italian manufacturer’s share price by over 10% by midday at the New York Stock Exchange.
While an official confirmation of Hamilton’s sensational transfer to Maranello is expected on Thursday evening, reports indicate that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff convened the team’s staff at Brackley this afternoon to inform crews of Hamilton’s departure at the end of the 2024 F1 season.
Meanwhile in New York, Ferrari, which trades under the appropriate ticker ‘RACE’, tagged on a healthy $7 billion in market cap thanks to the speculation surrounding Hamilton’s shock switch coupled with strong Q4 2023 numbers for the legendary sportscar manufacturer.
Ferrari reported Thursday that its net profit for the fourth quarter increased to 294 million euros or 1.62 euros per share from 221 million euros or 1.21 euros per share in the prior-year quarter.
Net revenues for the quarter increased 11 percent to 1.52 billion euros from 1.37 billion euros in the same quarter last year.
Shipments for the quarter totaled 3,245 units, down 82 units or 2 percent from last year.
Looking ahead for fiscal 2024, Ferrari now projects adjusted earnings in the range of about or greater than 7.50 euros per share on net revenues of more than 6.4 billion euros.
Over at Mercedes, the former championship winning outfit now faces the task of filling the significant void that Hamilton’s exit will leave.
One driver who could be set to profit from the change in landscape at the end of 2024 is Carlos Sainz. Contrary to his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc who was locked down recently by the Scuderia, the Spaniard’s talks did not come to fruition.
In addition to Mercedes, Sainz could potentially land at Red Bull or opt to jump on the Audi bandwagon at Sauber.
But all eyes are now on the official announcement and the ripple effects Hamilton’s move will have in the coming years.
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