Lewis Hamilton pulls back the curtain on why he was sitting in the Mercedes for a while after the race was over
Lewis Hamilton recently expressed what he felt while he was sitting in the Mercedes W15's cockpit after the 2024 F1 Abu Dhabi GP ended. The seven-time world champion would leave Mercedes and join Ferrari after 2024.
Hamilton recently raced his final Grand Prix with Mercedes. His name has been synonymous with the Silver Arrows for 12 years, during which the Brit won six of his seven world titles and helped the team win eight consecutive world titles from 2014 to 2021 as well.
In the Abu Dhabi GP, Lewis Hamilton drove a massive recovery race where he started from P16 and managed to secure P4. After the race, he performed donuts on the start-finish straight and parked his car in front of a special banner to honor his departure from the team. He stayed in the cockpit for a while and also knelt beside the car on one of its tires.
Speaking to F1.com after the race, he explained that he recalled all the success he had with Mercedes while sitting in the car. He added that he wanted to take the time to feel the car and cockpit for himself since he was usually occupied with a race session.
"I can't remember, to be honest. It's all already a blur, but I think it was just, you know...it's the last time I'm going to be in a cockpit of a Mercedes, you know? So just trying to, enjoy that moment, take it for me. Obviously I did the whole race, but there is so much you're doing on it. Yeah, just to be able to hold on to that moment. Because it's history now,"
Hamilton further added:
"All my races, they have all been powered by Mercedes and all the success we have had. So I just sat there to think about all that and really contemplate just how great a journey it has been. I'm going to miss them," he added.
Lewis Hamilton's emotional radio message after the Abu Dhabi GP
After the chequered flag came out at the 2024 F1 Abu Dhabi GP and Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in P4, the seven-time world champion sent an emotional farewell message to Mercedes' pit wall.
On the radio, the British driver said how he and Mercedes dreamed without each other, but they achieved their dreams as a team. He added that the team's success would forever remain in the history books. He then wished the team the best for the future.
“The pleasure’s been mine. Yeah, Bono. You know, we dreamed alone, but together we believed and, as a team, we achieved things that only… Thank you for all the courage, the determination, the passion and for seeing me and supporting me. What started out as a leap of faith, turned into a journey into the history books so – we did everything together and I’m so so grateful to everyone, here and back at the factory. From the bottom of my heart, all the best,” Hamilton said.
After December 31, 2024, Lewis Hamilton will officially leave Mercedes and join Ferrari.