Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ record-breaking 12-year association will come to an end after the 2024 season. As a result, the seven-time World Champion has planned a grand farewell tour ahead of his move to Ferrari, a German publication recently reported.
AMuS, the source, stated that Hamilton is keen on departing Mercedes with “dignity”, and hence, has no plans of flaunting a Ferrari suit until the calendars turn to 2025. Among the many things that Hamilton has decided he will do before, one of them is to travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to personally thank Mercedes’ long-time sponsor Petronas.
Then, the 39-year-old will visit the Mercedes headquarters in Stuttgart, before stopping by the team’s factories in Brackley and Brixworth. Since he has six of his seven World Championships with the help of thousands of employees working behind the scenes at these two places, Hamilton wants to personally bid them farewell.
AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT – The photos of Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari suit will have to wait until the presentation of the new car next year. After twelve seasons with Mercedes, Hamilton wants to bid farewell to his family with dignity.
1/4
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) October 24, 2024
Now, back to F1’s on-track action. Before Hamilton embarks on his tour, he will be aiming to end his Mercedes stint on a high by winning another race, adding to the 84 victories he has already secured with the Silver Arrows.
Plus, it is not just Hamilton who will hope to end his partnership with the German outfit on a high. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is also keen to give Hamilton the farewell he deserves.
Wolff: “We want to celebrate” Hamilton’s last few races
Hamilton has struggled since the summer break, failing to finish higher than fifth in the last five races of the season. Despite this, Wolff remains confident that the British driver can deliver some positive results in his final races with Mercedes.
“We want to celebrate it [Hamilton’s last season with them] and finish it on a high and I am sure we will,” the Austrian said in a recent interview. However, if Wolff is keen to see Hamilton have a strong end to his Mercedes stint, the team will need to improve the handling of the car, something the seven-time champion struggled massively with in Austin last weekend.
LAP 3/56
Hamilton into the gravel and out of the race ❌
That beached Mercedes will need moving and we have a Safety Car #F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/GunZRrSUIe
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2024
Hamilton registered a DNF in the United States GP after he made an uncharacteristic mistake that resulted in him beaching his W15 on the gravel. Wolff admitted after the race that Hamilton was not at fault for losing control of the W15.
Hamilton and Mercedes did have a disappointing outing in Austin, especially considering they brought upgrades to that race weekend. Despite them not having worked, Wolff is insistent on carrying them forward to this weekend’s Mexico City GP. As per him, his side can find more performance with the same upgrades if they make a few tweaks.
