ABU DHABI, UAE – Atop the Mercedes Hospitality Unit at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit, Lewis Hamilton is cooled by nearby fans working hard in the midday heat as race engineers I sat down at a table with Peter Bonnington and spent some time with him before the game. Plan your race weekend.
It was a routine they had done many times before, 245 times in fact, but the 246th time was a little more emotional. Although 84 race wins and six world championships in 12 years marked the most successful driver-team partnership in F1 history, this was Hamilton's final race weekend as a Mercedes driver.
Hamilton's conversation with Bonnington, affectionately known as “Bono” and whom Hamilton likened to a brother, was as professional as ever. They knew they had work to do. But in a press conference a few hours later, the seven-time world champion admitted there was extra emotion in those conversations.
“Sitting there and realizing that these are your last moments with the team, it's hard to explain that feeling,” Hamilton said. “Obviously not the best, but I think the best is that we’re really proud of what we accomplished.”
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' “The Last Dance'' took 10 months to make. On February 1, Hamilton announced: move Moving to Ferrari in 2025, the 39-year-old secured his final appearance in F1's iconic red car, bringing an end to a glittering career. Abu Dhabi will always be an important Grand Prix.
But at the end of a tough year on the track, from the highs of victories at Silverstone and Spa to the lows in the second half of the season, both Hamilton and Mercedes are intent on ending with a celebration.
“It's really a beautiful journey that you guys are going on together,” Hamilton said. “And because it was so long, the emotions were so deep.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had a sense of what was to come when Hamilton arrived at his home in Oxfordshire for a pre-season catch-up.
Fred Vasseur, Ferrari's F1 boss and a close friend of Wolff, has not responded to a text message asking if he would “take over as our driver”, and Hamilton's successor, Carlos Sainz, whose father is Mercedes' It is said that he informed the president of something. It might be happening.
Looking back on Thursday, Hamilton admitted his meeting with Wolff to deliver the news that the partnership was ending was “awkward”. Just eight months ago, they agreed a contract extension and Hamilton appeared to reaffirm their commitment, which he had previously envisioned lasting long after racing in F1 ended. . Their joint work on a campaign to support long-overdue changes to diversity and equality in F1 is a legacy that means more to Hamilton than his racing accomplishments.
He also admitted that he had “significantly underestimated” from an emotional standpoint over the past year. “There was some tension in the relationship from very early on. It took a while for people to get over it,” Hamilton admitted. “And speaking for myself, this has been a very emotional year for me. And I don't think I was in the best shape to handle and deal with those emotions.”
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff talk on the grid at Lusail International Circuit on November 30, 2024. (James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Hamilton has always taken care of his heart. That's evidenced by the tears shed after ending a two-and-a-half year championship drought at Silverstone. Thanks to his close relationship with Mercedes, his brutal honesty has weathered major disappointments – such as losing the title to teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016, and more controversial… But events like missing out on a record eighth world title in Abu Dhabi three years ago.
Wolf always liked to poke at open wounds and knew that was the only way to figure out how to improve the situation. He felt that Hamilton and Mercedes had “coped well” with the emotions of the year.
“When he decided to leave at the beginning of the season, we knew it could be an eventful year ahead,” Wolff said in Qatar. “We know that he is going somewhere else. We know that our future lies with Kimi (Antonelli). Through the ups and downs, we will continue to maintain our bond. Keep going, that's what we've achieved.”
“I'm just slow.”
These words may seem fanciful coming from a seven-time world champion. However, Hamilton felt a degree of resignation after a difficult Friday practice session in preparation for the Qatar Grand Prix, as he did not feel the car was giving him the performance he needed. That trend continued throughout the season.
For most of the year, the Mercedes W15 car did not suit his driving style and did not allow him to extract the pace he needed, especially in single laps. Through 23 races this season, Hamilton has trailed George Russell in head-to-head qualifying with an 18-5 record and a 24-point lead in the drivers' standings.
The day after Hamilton made that comment, when he had qualified sixth in Qatar with Russell second and nearly half a second faster, he was asked to elaborate further. Did he really mean that he had lost his edge? Is this a sign of the decline that most elite drivers and sports stars encounter as they approach their 40s?
“I know I still have it,” Hamilton said. “(It's) just the car not being a little faster. I'm sure it still has it. There's no question in my mind. (I'm) looking forward to the end.”
Lewis Hamilton heads into the final race with Mercedes in seventh place in the drivers' championship. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
It wasn't the first time Hamilton had presented such a bleak outlook. After the race in Brazil, Russell, who had been among the favorites to win until just before the red flag, fell behind to 10th place due to rain, said he “would have been happy to take a day off” instead of completing the final triple. I admitted it. header. At Las Vegas, when the W15 came alive in the cold to beat Mercedes to a 1-2, Hamilton thought he would take the win after qualifying 10th while Russell took pole position. He seemed depressed about not being able to lead him.
“The recent races, and maybe even the whole season, have obviously been different to our expectations,” Wolff said in Qatar. “That car is a handful to drive on the worst day.”
But how much damage did that hurt Hamilton in a way it didn't Russell? Wolff said part of the reason was Hamilton's driving style. “One of his strengths is that he can always brake late and attack corners, but the car can't withstand that,” he said, adding that the problem is exacerbated by grip in slow corners. “If the car slips more and lacks grip, it will probably suffer more than George.”
Speaking in Qatar, Basour said he was not worried “at all” about the form of his next star signing. “Look at the 50 laps he did in Las Vegas, he started 10th and finished with a Russell gearbox,” Vasseur said. “I'm not worried at all.”
Ferrari's progress this year, as they bounced back from a mid-season slump and won a late battle against McLaren for the constructors' title, will also mean Hamilton can rekindle more of his old form. He stressed on Thursday that while his focus remains on Mercedes heading into the final weekend, there is a natural excitement building for the next chapter.
“It's really motivating,” Hamilton said. I don't take that for granted. ”
Whenever Hamilton hangs up his helmet and brings an end to his hugely successful career, this period at Mercedes will be the most enduring and most defining part of his racing legacy.
His shock decision to leave McLaren, one of F1's consistently leading teams at the time, in 2012 was ridiculed as a mistake. It meant leaving the team that had brought Hamilton into F1 and stepping into the midfield. something unknown.
It proved to be the right move at the right time. McLaren was about to begin a decade-long decline, while Mercedes was building a record-breaking F1 dynasty around Hamilton.
This move allowed Hamilton to come into his own. His evolution from a 27-year-old former champion to one of F1's elder statesmen, with seven world titles under his belt and about to celebrate his 40th birthday, has sparked interest and celebrity far beyond this paddock. It was impressive. .
Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton sits in his car and poses for a group photo with his team ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. (Andrei Isaković/AFP)
Two large photographs of Hamilton will be displayed at the entrance to Mercedes' garage this weekend at Yas Marina Circuit. One is for his first win with Mercedes in Hungary in 2013, and the second is for Silverstone this year, perhaps the most impressive of his record 104 wins. . There is a message written on it: “Every dream requires a team.''
Despite this year's challenges and the difficulties of a year-long separation, what Hamilton and Mercedes have built together will remain intact.
“Nothing can take away 12 amazing years, eight constructors' championships and six drivers' championships,” Wolff said. “That will be a memory and from next Sunday onwards we will look back on this great period rather than a particularly bad season or race.
“We remain with good memories.”
It's a good memory. historical memories. When the checkered flag drops for Hamilton on Sunday night and he throws himself out of his Mercedes F1 car for the last time, the emotions will be so heavy they will surely come flooding back.
Top photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images, Clive Rose/Getty Images; Design: Meech Robinson/The Athletic
