The most prolific driver-team partnership in Formula 1 history ends this weekend when Lewis Hamilton bids farewell to Mercedes at the 2024 season finale at Abu Dhabi.
Mr. Lewis, who will drive for Ferrari in 2025, ends 12 seasons with the Silver Arrows, leaving a memorable legacy in which he claimed six of his seven world championships, 84 race victories, 78 pole positions, and 153 podiums. The 39-year-old British icon will be looking to reach the podium one final time for Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
“Already from like the briefings that we’ve had, you’re sitting there and you’re realizing these are the last moments with the team,” Mr. Hamilton said earlier this week. “It’s hard to describe the feeling. It’s not the greatest, but I think mostly I’m just really proud of what we’ve achieved. And I have so much pride in this team.”
Mr. Hamilton drove Mercedes to two first-place finishes this year. He captured an emotional victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July for his first triumph since 2021.
He also captured the Belgium Grand Prix later that month after teammate George Russell, who initially finished first, was disqualified for an underweight car.
Mr. Hamilton made the podium five times in an otherwise bittersweet season after announcing last winter he was leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025.
He enters Sunday’s race seventh in the driver’s standings, 24 points behind Mr. Russell and 218 points behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who clinched his fourth-consecutive world driving championship at Las Vegas.
Mr. Hamilton will team with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz, Jr. who won at Australia and Mexico this year and is fifth in the driver standings. Mercedes plans to replace Mr. Hamilton with 18-year-old rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Mr. Hamilton admitted it was a “difficult” season knowing he was leaving Mercedes after joining the team in 2013. “It’s been a very emotional year for me,” he said. “And I think I’ve not been at my best in handling and dealing with those emotions.”
Mercedes CEO Tom Wolf said Sunday’s race is “a celebration” of the Hamilton-Mercedes partnership. “It’s a legacy that transcends our sport with a lasting impact beyond the racetrack,” he said. “One that has strived to increase diversity in our sport. To fight for inclusion. Lewis has been the catalyst for so much of this, and we have been honored and proud to work hand-in-hand with him.”
Mr. Hamilton, who won his first world championship with McLaren, holds the F1 record for overall wins (105), and pole positions (104). His seven world championships are tied with Michael Schumacher.
He’s also proud of what he accomplished off the track. He used nearly $20 million of his own money to create Mission 44 which helps underserved people find careers in engineering. He has also worked with Mercedes and Formula 1 to form Ignite, an initiative to increase diversity in a sport that has only ever had one black driver in its 75-year history. “That is something I’m most proud of,” he said.