Lewis Hamilton suffered a major setback in his title fight in 2021 after the defeat in Mexico. With just four more races to go, the Briton knew he had to win each of those. To make sure the team was as motivated to achieve the feat as he was, the seven-time champion took an unusual step.
Hamilton has finally raced his last for Mercedes and the team is recalling the best moments spent with him. Andrew Shovlin did the same in his recent interview on F1’s Beyond The Grid Podcast. When asked to narrate an anecdote that defined Hamilton for him, Shovlin recalled the 2021 season with just four more races to go.
“I got invited to a WhatsApp group that was called ‘We will do this’. Lewis had put a few people in it and we had to win the next four races,” Shovlin said.
“I got this sense of, ‘Yeah we will do it’ because if he believes he’s going to do it, we’re there to support him. He’s got this sense of belief that’s so strong, it could almost make things happen. And the turnaround at that point, the dedication, the commitment, the level of detail he was going into to make sure we could go and win four races on the bounce was incredible,” he added.
Mercedes almost pulled it off as Hamilton went on to win the next three races. The final race in Abu Dhabi, however, saw him get overtaken by Max Verstappen on the final lap. The Dutchman was able to do it, owing to a decision by the race director Michael Masi, which the FIA later admitted was ‘erroneous’.
The end of an era for Hamilton and Mercedes
The defeat in Abu Dhabi also marked Hamilton’s defeat at the hands of Verstappen in the drivers’ championship. While Mercedes managed to bag the constructors’ title, it was their last with Hamilton in command.
The end of the 2021 season also marked the start of the ground-effect era of regulations. Mercedes engineers failed to get a grasp of the concept for the next two years.
As frustration kept building for Hamilton, he decided to leave the team for Ferrari in 2025. However, he made the announcement before the start of 2024, the season he bagged two wins.
Most @F1 titles with the same team ✅
Most F1 wins with the same team ✅
Most F1 poles with the same team ✅The list goes on…
All the mind-blowing records and numbers from Lewis’ incredible Mercedes career
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 11, 2024
Despite that, the 39-year-old will not regret jumping ship as the Italian outfit looks closer to title victory than Mercedes for the next season. If Hamilton is able to pull off the feat with Ferrari with both titles, it will take him to the top of the summit with eight championships while ending Ferrari’s title drought of 16 years.
