F1 champion Lewis Hamilton reveals EMOTIONAL Mercedes farewell surprise

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton reveals EMOTIONAL Mercedes farewell surprise

Lewis Hamilton competed in his last race for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 9 December 2024 22:55 Updated: 18:34

Lewis Hamilton has opened up about his emotional farewell surprise delivered by Mercedes ahead of his final Formula 1 race with the team.

The seven-time world champion competed in his final race for Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, ahead of his move to Ferrari in 2025.

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Hamilton leaves behind an incredible legacy at the team, including six drivers' titles earned between 2014-2020.

However, Mercedes’ decline in performance over recent years was enough to tempt Hamilton to switch to Ferrari, in a bid to win an eighth world title.

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Mercedes reveal farewell surprise for Lewis Hamilton

As part of Hamilton’s farewell surprise, Mercedes organised for him to drive three of his former cars at Silverstone, including his 2013 (W04), 2014 (W05), and 2018 (W09) cars.

The 39-year-old opened up about his reaction to the surprise in an emotional video posted on X.

"I woke up this morning, if I’m really honest I didn’t know that I would be driving the cars," Hamilton said.

"I thought we were coming up to drive just some of them AMG’s that sometimes we get the opportunity to drive up here with Toto.

"So when I arrived and saw the signs and then saw the three cars in the garage I knew that I’d get to drive those. That was a bit of a shock I didn’t realise - I wasn’t prepped to get into a Formula 1 car today.

Lewis Hamilton reveals emotional drive during farewell with Mercedes

"But the feeling of getting into the 13 car, it really brought back the memories from my first test. It really felt like the first time getting back in 2013 when I first did the test in Jerez, it was very reminiscent of that.

"So I got all of these kind of butterflies getting ready to go out and it was obviously a little bit damp to start off with and then hopping into the 14 car which is just so much different from the V8 to the V6, but the car that we won the championship in.

"I think just the emotions of joining the team when everyone was saying it wasn’t a good decision, to winning in that 13 car then winning the championship in the 14 car, it was really great to have those memories come back and that feeling come back."

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes FIA Abu Dhabi Grand Prix