Mercedes are separating from two of their partners before Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari, according to a report.
Hamilton informed Mercedes in the winter that this would be his final year with the team as he prepares to jump ship to the Scuderia.
And now Nextgen-Auto claim that a couple of associated brand deals are coming to an end too.
Hamilton is the most successful driver F1 has ever seen, with seven titles, 103 race wins and 104 pole positions to his name.
He won six of those at Mercedes after joining from McLaren ahead of the 2013 season.
No driver in the sport’s history has won as many titles with a single team.
But after Max Verstappen ended the Silver Arrows’ era of dominance in 2021, Hamilton and his team have endured a tougher spell.
He hasn’t been able to his tally of race wins in the last two seasons, and has made his poorest-ever start to a campaign in 2024.
The identity of George Russell’s 2025 teammate is not yet known, but a recent report has ruled out a spectacular move for Verstappen.
Two sponsors follow Ferrari bound Lewis Hamilton out of Mercedes
Mercedes’ deal with Puma, which has supplied their teamwear since 2012, will come to an end before the 2025 season.
At the same time, there will be no extension to the deal with luxury clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger.
Hamilton has released his own collection with the latter but also has close ties to the former.
The good news for Mercedes is that their new arrangement with Adidas should be more lucrative.
They earned just over £5m per year from their Puma contract, but they could net around £8.6m from Adidas.
The German sportswear giant considered becoming the title sponsor of the RB team over the winter but then turned their attention to Mercedes.
It’s unclear whether the team plans to find a direct replacement for Tommy Hilfiger.
Who will join Hamilton at Ferrari?
Hamilton may take some brands with him to Ferrari, but there could be some personnel who follow him too.
It’s not yet known whether long-time engineer Peter Bonnington will also head to Maranello, or whether he’ll cater for the 39-year-old’s replacement instead.
Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok says Hamilton’s move will look ‘masterful’ if Ferrari can successfully lure numerous key figures from the dominant Red Bull team.
Colleague David Croft, meanwhile, says he ‘would love’ to see the Bulls’ designer Adrian Newey link up with the legendary driver at the Italian marquee.
Newey has previously turned down three approaches from Ferrari but reports have claimed that Christian Horner wants to redeploy him within the team.
Team principal Fred Vasseur knows Hamilton well from his days at ART in GP2 (now Formula 2) and will hope to deliver a car good enough for the Briton to secure an unprecedented eighth championship.
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