When Lewis Hamilton surprisingly announced his move to Ferrari before the 2024 season, many questioned his equation with Mercedes. With several complaints about the car, there was a notion that he may not remain as dedicated to the Silver Arrows in his final season with them. However, the seven-time world champion has not shown any signs of being laid back this season at Mercedes, per F1 expert Ruth Buscombe.
She highlighted this on the Track Limits podcast while discussing the conversations she had with Hamilton this year. Buscombe said, “I knew that he cared a lot about winning with Mercedes. People can say what they wanna say but it was very clear to me that he was not done. He’s not checked out.”
Despite Mercedes‘ car not performing as per expectations at the start of the season, Hamilton stayed optimistic as usual. While he was complaining about the W15’s issues and the team not listening to his feedback, the Briton also kept pushing and did not reduce his involvement in solving the car’s concerns.
The efforts paid off as Mercedes started to find form after the Canadian GP with a series of upgrades ironing out the W15’s handling issues. This led to the Brackley outfit winning three out of the four races before the summer break. Hamilton won two of these races in Britain and Belgium and also ended his two-and-a-half-year drought of not winning races.
Even with only six races remaining and Mercedes experiencing a dry spell of podiums since the summer break, Hamilton wants to end his stint at Brackley on a high. He has spoken about the same despite his forthcoming move to Ferrari being a much more significant chapter of his F1 career.
Hamilton doesn’t regret his move from Mercedes to Ferrari
When Mercedes regained form in the middle part of the 2024 season, there was chatter in the paddock about whether Hamilton had made the right call of jumping ship to the Maranello outfit. However, the 39-year-old stated that he doesn’t regret his decision despite Ferrari suffering a slump when Mercedes were winning races.
He mentioned how leaving the team when the “chips are down” would be the “worst feeling” for him. So, the fact that the Silver Arrows got back to winning ways in his final season with them is quite satisfying for Hamilton.
He added, “I’ve been a part of helping progress this car to where it is today and that’s an amazing feeling. So, I’m very proud of it and also excited for next year.” Moving to Ferrari is also a personal milestone for Hamilton as he always dreamt of driving for the Prancing Horse.
Over the years, there have been numerous reports of the #44 driver being close to signing a deal with Ferrari, but it never materialized in reality. Now that it has, Hamilton is rather excited about starting a fresh chapter with the most prestigious constructor in F1.
