Cost Cap Woes Playing Spoilsport in Lewis Hamilton’s Final Hurrah Before Mercedes Farewell?

As the 2024 F1 season nears its end, Mercedes finds itself going through a disappointing phase and it is especially tough for Lewis Hamilton as the upcoming triple-header will mark his final races with the team. However, despite the struggles, there remains a slim hope that the seven-time champion can achieve one last victory with Mercedes.

At certain points during the 2024 season (especially since the upgrade in Canada), the W15 has shown that it can compete at the front. However, due to the cost cap constraints, the Brackley team can’t make any further improvements to the car to make Hamilton’s send-off a success.

This financial bottleneck is the result of a series of costly incidents in the second half of the season. Kimi Antonelli’s crash during his FP1 outing in Monza was the first setback. And then George Russell added to Mercedes’ woes with two major crashes in Austin and Mexico within the span of a week.

As explained by Edd Straw of ‘The Race’, these crashes have forced Mercedes into a difficult position. “Even if Hamilton can get better in sync with the car and it’s working well, Mercedes is in a difficult situation in terms of parts.”

“That means both drivers could be working with either tired or repaired bodywork and possibly even with mix-and-match specifications,” Straw explained.

And this could be one of the reasons why Hamilton has been upset with the team in recent times, especially in Brazil, where he barely scored a point and later dubbed it one of the worst weekends of his career.

Hamilton must be itching to get behind the wheel of the Ferrari

While the end of the season doesn’t promise much for the 39-year-old, the future does seem to be bright. The Briton’s move to Ferrari in 2025 comes at a time when the Scuderia appears to be on an upward trajectory.

Ferrari has recently overtaken Red Bull in the standings and is now locked in a battle with McLaren for the Constructors’ Championship. This resurgence is expected to carry over to their 2025 car, which Hamilton will inherit.

Although Hamilton will have little influence on the development of Ferrari’s 2025 challenger, he won’t mind stepping into a car that is already quick. After a few years of frustration, the opportunity to fight for wins and possibly a championship once again will undoubtedly give him a lot of motivation.