Lewis Hamilton described his time with Mercedes as the greatest honour of his life after the seven-time champion bowed out with his final race for the team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After a superlative drive at the Yas Marina circuit, Hamilton also admitted that, after a difficult year, it was good to bid farewell on a high.
Hamilton drove from 16th to fourth in Abu Dhabi, another mighty performance to sit alongside what has been an unmatched partnership of success with Mercedes since he joined the team in 2013. He has taken six titles with them and 84 wins over those 12 seasons and at his last race before he joins Ferrari next year, he took a moment to contemplate it all at the close when he was given a special place to park on the start-finish straight alongside the top three, where he knelt beside his car.
“When I stopped the car I just wanted to embrace the moment, because it’s the last time I’m going to step into a Mercedes and represent them, it’s been the greatest honour of my life,” he said.
“I mean every moment that I’ve got in the car this week, I’ve known that it’s one of the last and it’s been really hard to let go. I’m proud of every race, every pole position, every win we’ve had together, every championship, so when I knelt next to it I was just giving thanks, firstly thanking my own spirit for continuing to push, thanking everyone that powered and built that car. I’m proud of everyone.”
Having been denied an eighth title after the controversial finish to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Mercedes and Hamilton have struggled since the regulations changed in 2022, the team failing to develop a car that was consistently quick and well balanced. This year, while improved, the car remained mercurial and Hamilton and the team also had to adjust to the reality of his leaving, which he announced before the season began and which had not been an easy task.
“It’s been a really turbulent year, probably the longest year of my life, I would say, because we’ve known from the beginning that we’re leaving,” he said. “It’s like a relationship when you’ve told whoever the counterpart is that you’re leaving, but you’re living together for a whole year. Lots of ups and downs emotionally, but we finished off with a high today.”
Lando Norris won the race at the Yas Marina circuit, securing McLaren’s first constructors’ championship for 26 years in doing so after a commanding drive from pole to the flag. He beat both Ferraris to seal the title under no little pressure, especially after his teammate, Oscar Piastri, had been bundled out of contention on the opening lap by Max Verstappen. An achievement of which he was rightly proud.
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“Today was a very special day for all of us,” he said. “It was ours to lose today and I’m sure at certain moments people thought that it was not far away from being lost. The bigger picture of us winning a championship for the first time in 26 years, it feels wrong to say that McLaren have not won a championship in 26 years, but for me to be part of that, for Oscar to be part of it, is something we’re incredibly proud of. Delivering that for the team has put the biggest smile on everyone’s face.”
