HORSE POWER

Seven-time champ Hamilton lined up to bring the glory years back to Ferrari

- SIMON CASS

LEWIS HAMILTON'S decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes was a massive gamble - but choosing to quit the Silver Arrows for Ferrari falls into the 'no brainer category.

It is easy to forget how seismic a shock it was when Hamilton turned his back on McLaren, the team he joined as a 13-year-old and where he won his first world title in 2008.

A further six drivers' championships and 82 wins for Mercedes means the astonishment has long since faded.

Hamilton went all in, put the best years of his career on the line. And his reward paid off in a way even he could not have envisaged.

When the world awoke yesterday to the news that the biggest transfer story on deadline day would not come from football, rather Formula One, the shockwaves were felt globally once more.

But is it really that much of a surprise that Hamilton has chosen to sign off his glittering Formula One career with the most sparkly team of them all? After all, news of clandestine chats.

with Ferrari chairman John Elkann emerged last May. Then there was the revelation from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner that Hamilton's dad Anthony had been on the blower.

Clearly Hamilton had been pondering his next move for some time. In the end, he opted to sign a new two-year contract with Mercedes, the kicker being the £50million-aseason contract includes an escape clause'.

It represents an astonishingly clever piece of negotiation by Hamilton and his advisors.