British racing driver Lewis Hamilton has finally ended his 12-year partnership with Mercedes after finishing fourth in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina race track on Sunday, December 8. The 39-year-old shared multiple heartfelt posts on social media reflecting on his incredible journey with Mercedes from 2013 to 2024. It turned out to be a remarkable finish as Hamilton took fourth place in the race after starting from 16th.
In partnership with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton ended up winning six of his seven world championship titles along with 84 race wins. He shared a heart-felt post for Mercedes where he wrote “What started as a leap of faith turned into a historic journey !!! It’s been real, I love you all.” Lewis Hamilton is set to get a new start to his F1 career with Ferrari. His first glimpse of driving for Ferrari will be at pre-testing Bahrain from February 26 to 28, before the Australian Grand Prix from March 14 to 16 in 2025.
It really clicked for me in that moment: Lewis Hamilton reflects on his last race with Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton was down with a mix of emotions during his last race with Mercedes after a remarkable partnership of 12 years. After the race, the 39-year-old revealed it took time for him to sink in that this was his last-ever race with Mercedes. “When he (race engineer Pete Bonnington) said ‘hammer time’ I did notice, in the moment, that it was the last time I’m going to hear that. It really clicked for me in that moment,” Hamilton was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
“It was a really, really hard race naturally where I was, I didn’t get as great a start as this one here, my teammate next season (pointing to nearby Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc) and the first stint was really, really difficult,” Lewis Hamilton further said.
