F1 champion Lewis Hamilton suffers major demotion in team boss snub

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Singapore, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Hamilton suffers major F1 DEMOTION in team boss snub

Lewis Hamilton's 2024 season was poor

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 22 December 2024 13:57

Lewis Hamilton has been snubbed by Formula 1 team principals in a stunning 2024 vote.

The seven-time world champion is poised to join Ferrari in 2025 having ditched his Mercedes team after 12 trophy-laden seasons.

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Hamilton won six of his seven titles with the Brackley outfit, as well as winning 84 grands prix, cementing what became the most successful driver-team combination of all time.

The 39-year-old added two of those victories during the 2024 season, but suffered arguably the worst season of his career by finishing all the way down in seventh in the drivers' championship, behind Mercedes team-mate George Russell who also dominated him throughout qualifying sessions in 2024.

Lewis Hamilton claimed two race wins in 2024

Lewis Hamilton was outperformed by team-mate George Russell in 2024

Hamilton faces huge team boss snub

Hamilton often adopted a downbeat attitude throughout 2024, even suggesting at one point that he might call time on his Mercedes career a few races early.

Despite the clear performance issues of Mercedes' W15 car, Hamilton struggled to get the best out of it, eventually finishing 22 points behind Russell in the standings even though he won a race in which Russell was disqualified - representing a 25-point swing.

Now, Hamilton's disappointing 2024 has been further compounded by a demotion in a key award on the official F1 website voted for by team principals up and down the grid.

All 10 team bosses were asked to rank drivers on performance from one to 10, with drivers getting a certain amount of points depending on where they ranked.

For the fourth consecutive year, Verstappen came out on top of all his colleagues, earning maximum points, meaning all 10 team principals voted for him as their number one driver.

His championship rival Lando Norris was second, up one place compared to 2023, but it was Hamilton who was largely snubbed by team bosses.

The seven-time world champion only came in seventh, behind team-mate Russell and both Ferrari drivers, dropping two positions compared to his 2023 ranking.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Formula 1 George Russell Adrian Newey