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Lucrative Mercedes sponsor mocks Hamilton and Ferrari with this message
- Estéban den Toom
Luxury watch brand IWC Schaffhausen, a long-time sponsor of Mercedes' Formula 1 team, decided to recreate the iconic photo of Lewis Hamilton in front of Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello. The original image, taken on Hamilton’s first official day as a Ferrari driver, quickly went viral, becoming the most-liked Formula 1 photo within just 30 hours.
The Instagram account IWC Watches saw the photo and decided to have some fun with it. They posted their own version with the caption: "First day of Kurt Klaus' 68th season with IWC. But who's counting?" as the 91-year-old watchmaker is now beginning year 68 with the company.
Hamilton and his transfer to Ferrari
Hamilton spent 12 years with Mercedes, which is likely why IWC decided to poke fun at his move to Ferrari with their parody. Before the 2024 F1 season, it was officially announced that Hamilton would be switching to Ferrari in 2025. This change meant Carlos Sainz had to find a new team, leaving him temporarily without a seat before eventually signing with Williams. As a result, Hamilton would partner with Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton's Ferrari chapter got off to a dramatic start when he crashed during an F1 test in Barcelona. While testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, he lost control of his car and crashed. As the SF-23 was not repaired in time, Leclerc could not drive during the afternoon session. Fortunately, Hamilton emerged unscathed.
The switch to Ferrari marks a significant change for the Stevenage-born driver, who has spent his entire career in British-run teams. "I expect it to be massively different," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "The two teams I've been with have been British teams, so I'm going into a completely different culture in Italy." He highlighted one key contrast: "If you think about us Brits, we're very quiet, more calm. When you have success, when you have difficult days, everyone's kind of more chilled out, as where Italians are much more emotional."
See the message from the Mercedes sponsor
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This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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