A 26-year long partnership with Mercedes ended today for Lewis Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with style. The british driver managed to climb from P16 on the grid to P4.
Hamilton: “I’ve always had the confidence”
A collision with a bollard during qualifying led to Hamilton’s premature exit in Q1, leaving him at a disadvantage for his final race with Mercedes—a team with which he won six of his seven World Championships.
However, Hamilton utilized a clever hard-to-medium tyre strategy to carve his way through the field. His race was capped with a dramatic pass on teammate George Russell on the final lap at Turn 9.
When asked if this performance was a confidence boost ahead of his highly anticipated move to Ferrari in 2025, Hamilton responded: “Well, it’s not that I need it for the confidence, I’ve always had the confidence. But definitely really nice to finish off with a strong, hard battle.
“No mistakes, solid drive. It’s been a really, really turbulent year. Probably the longest year of my life, I would say, because we’ve known it from the beginning that we’re leaving.
“And it’s like a relationship when you’ve told whoever the counterpart is that you’re leaving, but you’re living together for a whole year.
“Lots of ups and downs, emotionally. But we finished off on a high today.”
He also explained his impressive last lap pass on George Russell around the outside as he closed an almost pit stop gap after he boxed, adding: “He was driving great. Obviously he started a lot further ahead than I did, so to catch the 14 seconds was tough.
“He was putting in good laps, so it took perfection. I had to really put together the best laps I could possibly do.
“Obviously in Vegas I was catching for a period of time and then stopped, so I was trying to make sure that I kept taking chunks out of the gap.
“And I only caught him right at that last lap, and I was like, it’s now or never. And so I just went for it.”
An emotional weekend
After the race, the 39-year-old knelt next to his W15, signaling the turmoil that he’s been experiencing. Hamilton will be ending his 12-year partnership with Mercedes after this race, one of the most successful athletic partnerships in history.
When asked about his thoughts during that emotional moment, he said: “Every moment that I’ve got in the car this week, I think I’ve known that it’s one of the last, and it’s been really, really clear and really hard to let go.
“So I think when I stopped the car, I wanted to embrace the moment because it’s the last time I’m going to step into a Mercedes and represent them.
“It’s been the greatest honour of my life. They have powered every race, every pole position, every win we’ve had together, every championship.
“So I think when I knelt next to it, I think it was just giving thanks. Firstly, thanking my own spirit for not giving up, continuing to push.
“Thanking everyone that powered and built that car. I’m proud of everyone.”
Recalling his most memorable points in his time at Mercedes, Hamilton said: hours “It’s impossible to say one. I think about the times we won championships together, the times we celebrated together as a team, some of the different ways.
“Some of the wins were less exciting for people, and you see the engineers just go back to work, [..] Silverstone this year, the first win, the first championship we had, the losses that we’ve had, the tears you’ve seen in certain individuals, times that people have had their head in their hands, and then got back up and pushed and succeeded.
“Too many to mention.”
Tensions resolved
In February, it was announced that Hamilton would go to Ferrari in 2025, guaranteeing that his final goodbye to Mercedes would be prolonged throughout the season, which saw highs and lows as the team struggled to find reliable performance, a problem they suffered from since the introduction of the the new technical rules.
Hamilton admitted that there were tensions within the team since his announcement, although he ultimately took two wins at Silverstone and Spa.
“I think what’s evident, I think, within the relationship is you have your ups and downs, and I think this year we’ve definitely, as a team, had our ups and downs.
“There’s been certain feelings because I’ve chosen to go a certain way, and it’s not been easy for people to accept and to get over, but then, bit by bit through the year, what’s come through is that there’s real love at the end of the day.
“I’ve got the board members from Mercedes who have stood by and supported me all these years who were upset at the beginning, but then today, you’ll always be a part of the family. It just shows that love conquers all.
“And I think there is a lot of love between us, and I think this weekend, on Thursday, the team surprised me upstairs, and that was super emotional. I ain’t got no more tears, really. Everything came out then.
Hamilton also recalled his experience with his long-term Mercedes F1 engineer Peter Bonnington, the longest engineer-driver partnership in the sport, saying: “So, I remember I told Bono to say hammer time back in the first year together.
“I was like, don’t tell me just go faster. Just say, tell me it’s hammer time, and I know what it is, you know? And what a roller coaster ride I’ve had with Bono.
“He’s been one of my closest friends for many years. It’s something I didn’t expect to have. He’s worked with Michael Schumacher, he’s worked with great drivers.
“The longest he’s stood by me as an engineer to stick with someone as restrained and painful as he can sometimes be, he’s stood by me every single day without fail.”
