ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Lewis Hamilton sat at a table together with his race engineer Peter Bonnington on the roof of the Mercedes hospitality department at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit, cooled by nearby fans working hard within the midday heat to make some preparations. Planning the race weekend.
It was a routine they’d passed through again and again before – 245 times in truth – however the 246th time was slightly more emotional. After 12 years, 84 race wins and 6 world championships, representing probably the most successful driver-team partnership in Formula 1 history, this was Hamilton's final race weekend as a Mercedes driver.
Hamilton's conversations with Bonnington, affectionately often called “Bono” and someone Hamilton has in comparison with a brother, remained as skilled as ever. They knew there was a job to be done. But a number of hours later, the seven-time world champion admitted that those conversations got here with an added level of emotion.
“You sit there and realize these are the last moments with the team and that's… it's hard to describe that feeling,” Hamilton said. “It's obviously not the greatest, but I think, more than anything, I'm really proud of what we've achieved.”
The “last dance” for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes lasted ten months. On February 1, Hamilton announced this move He moved to Ferrari for 2025, securing the 39-year-old one final drive in the enduring red F1 cars to finish his illustrious profession. Abu Dhabi has at all times been a very important Grand Prix.
But at the tip of a grueling 12 months on the circuit, which has ranged from the highs of victories at Silverstone and Spa to the lows towards the tip of the season, each Hamilton and Mercedes are determined to complete on a high note.
“It’s a really beautiful journey that you take together,” Hamilton said. “And because it was so long, the emotions run so deep.”
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, already suspected what was coming when Hamilton arrived at his home in Oxfordshire for the pre-season catch-up meeting.
Fred Vasseur, Ferrari's F1 boss and shut friend of Wolff, had not responded to a text message asking if he would “take our driver with him”, and the daddy of Carlos Sainz, whom Hamilton would replace, had one for the Mercedes boss Hint on condition that could occur.
Looking back on Thursday, Hamilton admitted it was an “uncomfortable” meeting with Wolff to interrupt the news that their partnership was ending. Just eight months earlier, they’d agreed a contract extension that appeared to reaffirm their commitment, which Hamilton had previously thought would last long gone the tip of his time racing in Formula One. Their joint work on campaigns to support long-overdue changes to diversity and equality in Formula 1 is a legacy which means more to Hamilton than his racing successes.
It also caused a 12 months of him admitting that he had “massively underestimated” himself emotionally. “It put a strain on the relationship very early on; “It took some time for people to get over it,” Hamilton admitted. “And for myself it was a very emotional year. And I don’t think I was at my best dealing with those emotions.”
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff chat on the starting grid on the Lusail International Circuit on November 30, 2024. (James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Hamilton has at all times worn his heart on his sleeve, as evidenced by the tears that flowed after he ended his two-and-a-half 12 months victory drought at Silverstone. The intimacy of his relationship with Mercedes allows for a brutal honesty that has weathered significant disappointments – like his title defeat to teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016 or, more controversially, what happened in Abu Dhabi three years ago when he won his eighth world title, the Record, missed.
Wolff has at all times enjoyed picking at open wounds, knowing that this is commonly the one solution to understand easy methods to improve a situation. He felt Hamilton and Mercedes had “done a good job” of coping with the emotions of this 12 months.
“When he made the decision to leave at the beginning of the season, we knew it could be a bumpy year,” said Wolff in Qatar. “He knows he will go somewhere else. We know that our future lies with Kimi (Antonelli). Going through the ups and downs and still sticking together between us is something we have achieved.”
“I’m just slow.”
It could seem fanciful for a seven-time world champion to say these words. But there was a way of resignation as Hamilton handled a difficult practice Friday for the Qatar Grand Prix wherein he didn't feel the automobile was giving him back the performance he needed. This continued a seasonal trend.
For a lot of the 12 months the Mercedes W15 had not adapted to his driving style and had not allowed him to get the pace he needed, especially over a single lap. In 23 races this season, Hamilton trails George Russell 18-5 in qualifying and is 24 points behind within the drivers' standings.
The day after Hamilton made that comment when he qualified sixth in Qatar while Russell was P2 and almost half a second quicker, he was asked to elaborate. Did he really mean that he had lost his edge? Is this an indication of the decline that almost all top drivers and sports stars experience as they approach their 40s?
“I know I still have it,” Hamilton said. “(It's) just that the car isn't going any faster. I definitely know I still have it. That's not a question for me. (I’m) looking forward to the end.”
Lewis Hamilton goes into his last race with Mercedes in seventh place within the drivers' championship. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
It wasn't the primary time Hamilton gave such a bleak outlook. After the race in Brazil, where he had dropped to tenth in rainy conditions while Russell had been in contention for victory before the red flag, he admitted he “could happily go on holiday” as a substitute of the ultimate treble to drive. Header. As the W15 got here to life within the cold in Las Vegas and gave Mercedes a one-two finish, Hamilton seemed upset that he hadn't been the one to take the lead, having found himself P10 in qualifying while Russell was up the Pole stood.
“These last few races, maybe even the whole season, were clearly not what we expected,” said Wolff in Qatar. “This car is a handful to drive on the worst days.”
But how much did that hurt Hamilton in a way that it didn't for Russell? Wolff attributed a few of this to Hamilton's driving style. “One of his strengths is that he can always brake late and attack the corner, and the car can't take that,” he said, adding that the issue gets worse when grip decreases in slow corners. “Then if the car slides more and he lacks grip, that contributes to (him) probably suffering more than George.”
In Qatar, Vasseur said he was “not at all” nervous concerning the type of his latest star signing. “Look at the 50 laps he drove in Vegas, starting 10th (and finishing on Russell’s gearbox), Vasseur said. “I’m not worried at all.”
The progress Ferrari has made this 12 months, recovering from its mid-season slump and McLaren's late challenge for the constructors' title, can even reassure Hamilton that he can return to form. He stressed on Thursday that his focus stays on Mercedes heading into his final weekend, but that there’s a natural excitement concerning the next chapter.
“It really inspires motivation,” said Hamilton, “and it’s a dream scenario for any driver to get an opportunity like this. “I don’t take that for granted.”
Whenever Hamilton hangs up his helmet and ends his hugely successful profession, this time at Mercedes can be probably the most lasting and definitive a part of his racing legacy.
When he decided to make a surprising move in 2012 to maneuver away from McLaren, then consistently certainly one of the leading Formula 1 teams, it was derided as a mistake: a move into the midfield, away from the team that brought Hamilton into Formula 1 had brought, and into it the unknown.
It turned out to be the appropriate move at the appropriate time. McLaren was on the verge of starting a decade-long decline, while Mercedes was on the verge of launching a record-breaking F1 dynasty with Hamilton at its heart.
The move also allowed Hamilton to grow to be himself. His evolution from a 27-year-old former champion to certainly one of Formula 1's elder statesmen, on the verge of his fortieth birthday, with seven world titles to his name, with interests and celebrity status that stretch far beyond this paddock, has been impressive.
British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton sits on his automobile and poses together with his team for a gaggle photo before the Abu Dhabi GP. (Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
At the doorway to the Mercedes pit for this weekend on the Yas Marina Circuit hang two large pictures of Hamilton, one from Hungary in 2013 – his first win for Mercedes – and the second from Silverstone this 12 months, arguably probably the most emotional of his record 104 victories. Above it’s the message: “Every dream needs a team.”
Even the challenges of this 12 months and the problem of a year-long farewell won’t diminish what Hamilton and Mercedes have built together.
“Nothing will take away from us twelve incredible years with eight constructors’ and six drivers’ championships,” said Wolff. “That will be the memory and after next Sunday we will look back on this great time and not on a season or races that were particularly bad.
“The beautiful memories will remain with us.”
Good memories. Historical memories. They are so filled with emotion that they’ll surely come back when the checkered flag falls for Hamilton on Sunday evening and he rises from a Mercedes F1 automobile for the last time.
The athlete
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