Lewis Hamilton F1 News: Mercedes star delivers CRYPTIC future statement in 'last' admission

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton delivers CRYPTIC F1 future statement in 'last' admission

Lewis Hamilton is set to leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 5 November 2024 18:10

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton delivered a cryptic message following the Brazilian Grand Prix, leaving fans scrambling over whether he could be considering an early exit from Mercedes.

Proceedings in Sao Paulo last weekend marked some of the highest highs and deepest lows of Hamilton's career simultaneously, after the star was given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pilot the MP4 of his hero Ayrton Senna, while also juggling what was a disastrous weekend competitively for his current team Mercedes.

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Hamilton could only qualify in 12th for Saturday's sprint race after a dismal Friday, and then finished the sprint race down in 11th, outside of the points.

Throughout the weekend at Interlagos, Hamilton and many other drivers complained extensively over the freshly resurfaced track, causing significant bouncing and visibly putting the drivers through a painful experience all weekend.

When it came to the main event on Sunday, Hamilton was surely exhausted by the time the grand prix got underway, with a postponed qualifying session being moved to Sunday morning and the British star having also driven Senna's McLaren around the circuit that day as well.

Lewis Hamilton was handed the honour of driving Ayrton Senna's MP4/5B around Interlagos

Lewis Hamilton frequently bemoaned the performance of his Mercedes in Brazil

Hamilton delivers emotional team statement

Hamilton's Sunday morning qualifying session was even worse, failing to get out of Q1 despite normally being masterful in wet conditions, and therefore starting the main race down in 14th.

Following Sunday's race where the Mercedes man scraped into the points with a P10 finish despite an error-strewn afternoon, he took to team radio to deliver a cryptic message on his future with the Brackley outfit.

"That was a disaster of a weekend guys," Hamilton said. "That's the worst the car has ever been but thank you for continuing to try, great job to all the guys at the pit stop.

"If this is the last time I get to perform, it's a shame it wasn't great but grateful for you."

Would Lewis Hamilton consider leaving Mercedes before the season ends?

The message sounded like the seven-time champion may be considering leaving Mercedes before the end of the season, with 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli waiting in the wings as Hamilton's replacement for 2025 and beyond.

Having stressed how much he needed a 'break' after the disastrous weekend of results, it may not come as much of a surprise should the star decide to end his stunning 12 seasons with Mercedes prematurely, ahead of his 2025 switch to Ferrari.

Mercedes have confirmed to GPFans that there were no plans to replace the seven-time champion early.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

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