Lewis Hamilton will be partnering Charles Leclerc at Ferrari from 2025. Photo: AFP
Online searches for ‘Ferrari stock’ exploded over 2,700% worldwide on February 1st following F1 racing driver Lewis Hamilton’s anticipated move to the prancing horse.
The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team last week said the seven-time Formula One world champion would be leaving the team at the end of the upcoming 2024 season after 11 years to join the Scuderia Ferrari team.
While the bombshell departure shocked many loyal Hamilton fans, Ferrari trended on social media, with many taking to the net to get the latest update ahead of the first race on March 2 in Bahrain.
ALSO READ: CONFIRMED: Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes after ‘amazing 11 years’ to join Ferrari
The research by Bombastic revealed that online interest in Ferrari stock, Googled on average 15,000 times a month, soared to over 28 times the average volume compared to the last 90 days as the Italian team announced the British driver’s move from their rival.
At the same time, searches for ‘Mercedes stock’ saw a smaller 351% uplift in searches.
Google Trends data suggests the news could have brought interest in the Italian carmaker to all-time highs, over seven times the levels seen when Ferrari listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2015.
Hamilton was happy about his move to the prancing horse.
“The time has come for me to start a new chapter in my life, and I will be joining Scuderia Ferrari in 2025. I feel incredibly fortunate after achieving things with Mercedes that I could only have dreamed of as a kid, that I now have the chance to fulfill another childhood dream, driving in Ferrari red.”
A Bombastic spokesperson commented that Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is one of the biggest announcements in the sport’s history.
“The deal will likely have a ripple effect on the wider sport, particularly with other drivers tied to both teams. The findings offer a fascinating insight into the impact of the sport on companies’ stock prices and the influence that Hamilton has on F1.
It will be interesting to see how share prices may change when Hamilton gets behind the wheel of a Ferrari,” the spokesperson said.
Hamilton won the last of his world titles in 2020 but lost the 2021 championship in controversial fashion to Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen when the race director ignored the safety car rules in Abu Dhabi, effectively blocking the Briton’s route to victory in both that grand prix and the championship.
ALSO READ: Red Bull F1 boss being investigated over ‘inappropriate behaviour’
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